If Rock And Roll Has Taught Us Anything
by angelofjoy
Summary: ...It's to go big or go home, or at least that's the advice Danny gives when Kono comes to him with a dilemma. Now Five-0 are tasked with saving the governor's ball. Rated T for language.
1. This Is A Man's World

**A/N: Hello everyone and welcome to a brand new story! I have been playing with the idea of a Kono centered story for some time. In my mind her character could be so rock and roll in the show, it's just I feel like sometimes the writers of the show don't know how to write good female characters. This story is going to be my tribute to the kick ass, rock goddess that I am sure Kono could be.**

**Each chapter title will be a song, a lesson in my mind that Rock and Roll or musical genres that have influence the birth of rock and roll, have taught us. Or songs that may, in my mind, really suit Kono's personality, or Danny's because he's going to be my secondary character for this whole story. Steve and Chin will be there too, but I am partial to Danny so I can't write a story where he's not either main focus or really helping to push the main plot along.**

**As Always, I own nothing, but I must say: If Rock and Roll has Taught Us Anything…It's to Go Big or Go Home!**

Chapter 1: This is a Man's World

_ This is a man's world, this is a man's world, but it wouldn't be nothing, nothing without a woman or a girl…-_ James Brown

"Officer Kalakaua" was one of the lucky ones. Fresh out of the academy, she landed a position on the most prestigious law enforcement task force in the state.

From the outside it looked all bright, shiny and new, but Kono knew that all looks can be deceiving. Although it was the best thing to happen to lucky young Hawaiian, it was also the deepest into the darkness she'd ever imagined she would go.

Now, after four years on the job, with multiple experiences, good and bad, under her belt, and a renewed determination to become even better, Kono was starting to truly believe that she was meant to be an officer of the law for the rest of her life.

Just like many generations of her family.

Detective Danny Williams also knew just how lucky he was. When he'd first arrived in Hawaii he was determined to hate everything about the islands, but that had changed very quickly. He had been accepted, welcomed and inducted into a whole new family.

Danny knew the risks of the job, had lost a partner on the island already, and he faced them with dedication and loyalty to the people around him, who had held him up in times of trouble and who built him up in times of sorrow. Who loved him and whom he was sure would he would love for the remainder of his time on this earth.

But most of all he had watched and mentored a young rookie as she struggled to find herself, and fought her way through the first four years of her career in a predominantly male dominated profession. Danny believe that within the task force – with himself, Chin and Steve – Kono was treated fairly and as an equal, but he knew what was said about a woman on the force. He knew the troubles and hoops that they had to jump through, and he knew that it was always about proving themselves.

Danny also knew that men from all branches of HPD would have killed for her spot. Men with much more experience then Kono, but Steve McGarrett had brought the team together and had chosen Kono, just as he had chosen her cousin – who had been shunned by the force, and just as he had chosen Danny, who was a true outsider. They were the band of misfits on an island of forgotten toys, but they had always been ready and willing to serve and protect, without prejudice, without concern for their welfare, but with an undying dedication to justice and each other.

What people around them didn't know, however, was that Kono Kalakaua and Daniel Williams had developed a steadfast bond and a real connection between them. Their team had always meshed well but as a senior officer and detective, Danny had always seen it as his responsibility to help the rookie out.

On a personal level, Danny knew how Kono felt because he had gone through the same thing when he left everything he had loved and moved out to Hawaii. He had to start all over, from the bottom and work his way up – proving himself worthy of a job no one believed he should have gotten because he wasn't a native Hawaiian. Danny had gone from a successful Homicide detective, knowing his beat and the people of his community who trusted him, to being brand new and not worthy of the Hawaiians trust.

But Danny had fresh eyes, saw past the prejudice and the way of life, and saw only the justice that needed to be served. Kono, as a rookie, needed to develop those same eyes and look past the homeland she had always known to see the shadows of injustice that lurked just below the sunny surface. She had left behind her life as a professional surfer – due to her personal injuries – to take up her place in the family business, a business she really knew nothing about and for which she had developed her own prejudices.

The business or her family had always been police work, but her family had turned its back on one of its own. As far as Kono was concerned, Chin Ho had done nothing wrong. She believed him with all her heart and vowed never to leave his side. She became a cop, to an extent, to prove that Chin was innocent and as Danny came into their fold and Steve showed his loyalty, Kono came back around to the idea of being a cop for the sake of justice, but that didn't make her any less the woman on the force, and being pulled from the precinct to a task force without gaining the trust of the locals was enough to keep Danny's head just below the surface as well.

Kono and Danny were a team – broken but whole – and it was their job to stand up for one another, to help each other fit back into the puzzle that had become their lives.

Steve was a naval officer, he was a SEAL, and Kono was not. Steve knew where he fit in, in the world. Chin was a police officer, and a damn good one, but Kono was his cousin and so he would always have a place in his heart that forced him to protect her – and see her as the child he had watched grow up.

Danny, on the other hand, was new. An outsider, inside the profession, and Kono was a girl. In the hierarchies of the islands, and the force, they came into the game at the bottom of the totem pole and so they would prove themselves together. Kono, meanwhile, made it her business to see to it that Danny felt at home and welcomes, that he found his way in the Hawaiian light – and that he would one day see himself as Kama'aina and truly believe it, not just listen and laugh when others told him he was.

One morning, as it had been for many months, Danny got up early, loaded his surf board into the Camaro and headed to Kono's to pick her up. Almost since the beginning of their acquaintance and friendship, Kono had been teaching Danny how to surf, and in four years on the water, he was truly starting to excel. He arrived as the sun started to crest on the horizon and found Kono sitting on her front step with a very large, very heavy-looking, book in her hands and her board ready to go.

"Hey, Rookie," Danny stated as he stopped the car and got out.

"I'll always be the rookie won't I?" Kono asked as she picked up her board.

"Just as I'll always be 'Haole,'" Danny laughed. "Nah," he added with a smiled as he shook his head, "you'll only be the rookie until the Governor decides that we need more members of the team, again, and starts sending in fresh, young blood to be trained up in the McGarrett way."

Kono laughed at the thought, which was true.

"Then you'll become the Yoda to their Skywalker." Danny spoke metaphorically.

"Oh, does that make you my Yoda?" Kono giggled.

"No, I'm more of an Obi-Wan on the awesome teacher scale," Danny smiled.

"What's brought the geek on this morning?" Kono laughed.

"Star Wars marathon last night, through the rain storm, with McGarrett," Danny shrugged. "He likened us to the Luke, and his crew."

"Who does that make you R2-D2?" Kono mocked.

"Short jokes this early in the morning? Really? Have you been talking to McGarrett already?" Danny laughed. "I guess it didn't help that after he made the comment I likened him to Chewbacca, so I kinda deserved it."

Kono burst with laughed as she loaded her board into the Camaro as well.

"So, on a completely different note, what are you reading, young Jedi?"

"The manual" Kono confessed. "I'm thinking of taking my detectives exam. I have the time in with Five-O and the experience in investigation and homicide, so I think it's time to start adding to my qualifications."

"I agree," Danny stated and climbed back into the car.

"Do you think Chin will?" Kono asked seriously. "I mean, he's a lieutenant with HPD, but worked in the private sector before coming back to law enforcement and I'm just wondering if he wants to see me move through the ranks at HPD first. Do you think he wants to see me remain an officer?"

"I think your cousin only wants what is best for you and if that means becoming a detective, of a doctor, or a candlestick maker, he'll support you because it's what you want to do and Chin will always support you." Danny answered.

"And what about Steve?"

"Oh, trust me, Steve already believes you have well surpassed any tests or titles, or else he would have never chosen you for the task force in the first place. He knows your up for anything and loyal to Five-O."

"So am I doing this for self-gratification or titles?" Kono asked and the confusion was all over her face and her tone.

"Why are you second guessing yourself, Kono?" Danny asked with the kind of fatherly smile he usually saved for Grace. "You are selfless and loyal, and yet you are young and determined. You can do anything you put your mind too. So why would you ever doubt yourself?"

"I don't know," Kono sighed as Danny pulled the car to a stop at the beach and watched as the waves crashed to the shore.

"I tell you what, find a case to take point on and see it through to the very end. If you aren't happy with the outcome or your performance through the case, then maybe you need just a little more time, training and confidence. I'll help you with whatever you need, and I have your back – one hundred percent."

Kono smiled.

"Actually I have my eyes on a case and I think I have it pegged."

"Oh? Do tell," Danny stated excitedly.

"I will, just not now," Kono smiled. "You don't want to miss this surf, do you?"

"Lead on, my Jedi surf master." Danny answered and followed Kono into the ocean.

**A/N: Comic moments brought to you by Star Wars. Time to get your geek on!**


	2. Superstition

**A/N: I know it's not much, but I thought I would post a little something tonight.**

**Thank you to everyone who commented and followed this story! I hope I don't disappoint.**

Chapter 2: Superstition

_Very superstitious, wash you face and hands. Rid me of the problems, do all that you can. Keep me in a daydream, keep me goin' strong. You don't wanna save me, sad is my song. When you believe in things you don't understand then you suffer. Superstition ain't the way…-_ Stevie Wonder

Danny walked into the office only slightly later then he usually would. After the brisk morning surf he dropped Kono off at her house, with her board, and then hit up his own apartment where he showered, changed and headed to work. No one would be any wiser because he and Kono showed up separately, and surprisingly Kono beat him in.

"Sleep in?" Steve asked as he came out of his office at the sight of his partner.

"Too much Star Wars fun, I guess," Danny laughed and the subject was dropped.

"We have a new case!" Steve announced and his crew gathered around the smart table.

Danny looked to Kono for intell on the case but she shook her head.

"The two bodies were discovered early this morning in a shallow grave by two hikers in the area." Steve explained, "One of the victims was identified by the governor as part of his staff. The young man was a part of his security detail and has been on vacation for three weeks. He was reported missing three days ago when he failed to return to work and contact with family on the mainland confirmed that he returned to Hawaii after his holiday."

"And what about the second victim?" Kono asked.

"No ID on her yet," Chin stated as he flipped through the file, "The bodies have already been transported by Max; hopefully he'll be able to get us something off of them."

"We have an address for the first victim," Steve said.

"Sounds like the place to start an investigation." Danny smirked.

"My thoughts exactly," Steve smiled. "We're on the house. Chin, you and Kono can check out the crime scene and then visit Max to see if he's come up with anything. If we get anything we'll call you."

"Business as usual," Danny stated with a shake of his head and followed his partner out of the office.

5-0

Kono and Chin arrived on the scene of the burial after a short hike along a trail guarded and roped off by HPD. They arrived at the site to fine the crime scene investigators still in place and their friend Charlie Fong among them.

"Hey Fong," Kono stated cheerfully, "Have you found anything good?" she asked.

"Very little," Charlie answered. "Some hairs, some fibers but it's been very odd. One victim was found with all its ID and money, making it very easily identifiable. The other one…not so much..."

"The male victim has been IDed." Chin stated.

"That's right. We have nothing on the female. She didn't have a thing on her, in fact, the body was staged for burial where as the male victim was not." Charlie explained. "So we're going over the site more thoroughly. I can tell you this much, this was not the primary crime scene there is no blood. It's just a dump site and a very lazy one at that."

"Where are the graves?" Kono asked.

"You're standing in it!" Charlie mocked.

Kono jumped.

"Don't worry Kono, the bodies were dropped and the top soil was piled on top of them, like the killer wanted them to be found. The man was all mangled; his body and clothing were all bloody and the cause of death looks to be two bullet wounds to the chest. The woman, on the other hand, had been cleaned, her bullet wound had been packed, her clothing had been changed, her hair was done and her body was posed before the burial. It was oddly balanced." Charlie explained, "and that's pretty much all we've found. The bodies were hardly covered in the top spoil, but you couldn't see them through the underbrush, it was the smell that tipped off the hikers. These two people have been dead for at least two days. I believe that our killers wanted the bodies to be found, but he wasn't excepting to have them found this soon."

Kono stared for a moment in silence as something struck her.

"What are you thinking Cuz?" Chin asked.

"It's nothing," Kono sighed as she shook the thought from her head.

"My guess is that last night's storm washed away most of the top soil that the bodies had been covered with and with the arrival of this morning's sun and beautiful humidity, these bodies started to show themselves fairly quickly and for miles." Charlie added.

"That makes perfect sense." Chin sighed, "I don't think you're going to find much here. If there was anything, it's all been washed away now."

"You're probably right." Fong confirmed.

""Thanks Charlie, for everything," Kono said with a sympathetic look and followed Chin back to his vehicle. "Hopefully Max can give us more." She sighed as she climbed into the passenger seat.

5-0

Danny and Steve arrived at the house of the first victim. They found a car in the driveway and from the street they could see that the television was on. Someone passed in front of the kitchen window and then walked casually into the living room.

Danny snatched the file off the back seat and flipped through it quickly before he threw it back on the seat.

"What?" Steve asked.

"The file says there aren't any co-dependents. No wife. No kids. No nothing." Danny stated.

Steve looked at the house again.

"So who is that living there, Steve, and why haven't they reported the victim missing?" Danny asked.

"It was the governor's staff that reported Mr. Aho missing." Steve stated.

"Because he doesn't have any family on the islands, yeah, I got that from the file."

"So _who_ is that?" Steve asked catching onto Danny's train of thought.

"Maybe we should ask." Danny suggested and watched Steve. "Tell you what, big guy, if he bolts when he finds out who we are you can chase him down," Danny stated catching the concern and suspicion on Steve's face, "until such a time, however, maybe there is a perfectly logical explanation to his living there."

"It's more fun if they run." Steve smirked.

"No it's not!" Danny sighed and got out of the car. "I'll do all the talking." He added as they walked up the path toward the front door.

"You usually do." Steve smirked and knocked at the door.

"Can I help you gentlemen?" A man asked, still in his boxers, as he came to the door with his coffee cup in his hands and smiled at Steve and Danny.

"We're looking for Mr. Robert Aho," Danny smiled.

"I am he," The man at the door stated.

"You are?" Danny asked in shock.

A shadow crossed the man's face.

"Because we found Mr. Robert Aho dead this morning," Danny added and motioned to the badge on his hip. "So really who are you?"

"Robert is dead," The man asked in mock shock but Danny and Steve both saw right through the lie, "I thought you said Richard. I'm Richard Aho, his brother. I can't believe he's dead."

"Robert doesn't have a brother," Steve stated, "He's the only child to Rosa and Joseph Aho."

"And you don't look old enough to be Joseph." Danny stated. "So try again. Who the hell are you?" he asked.

"Umm…" The man stated, threw his coffee out the door at Danny, but Danny saw it coming, and then dodged and slammed the door in the faces of the two cops.

"He's all yours Steve, after you," Danny sighed as he backed up and Steve, with a smirk that crossed his face and spoke volumes for the fun he was about to have, kicked in the door.


	3. Who Are You?

**A/N: I know I left the last chapter at a bit of a cliff hanger already. I hope everyone is alright with this resolution!**

Chapter 3: Who Are You?

_I woke up in a Soho doorway; the police man knew my name. He said "you can go sleep at home tonight if you can get up and walk away." I staggered back to the underground; the breeze blew back my hair. I remember throwing punches around and preachin' from my chair. Well who are you? ..._ – The Who

Steve burst through the door as it fell away and swung inward. His gun was drawn and Danny followed covering his back. The two men worked quickly, moving from room to room, clearing each as they went and looking for any sign that the suspect was still in the house. There wasn't a sound to be heard other then the news report on the television which played louder then it would normally as Danny and Steve made their way to the second floor discovering that the house had a second level but no basement or cellar. The back entrance was still locked, the doors were secured and the windows intact, so Steve and Danny moved on to the second level knowing the man had to be in the house still.

"We know you're in here, show yourself, or we'll call in a K-9." Steve stated as he appeared on the landing of the second level.

"Those dogs could find a needle in a hay stack and they are trained to latch onto an arm or a leg until their handler can arrive to call them off." Danny stated backing Steve up, "so I'd come out now and save your self the hassle and the multitude of stitches."

"Or I could smoke him out," Steve stated over his shoulder to Danny. "I do have a handful of smoke grenades in the Camaro. That would make the search faster."

"You wanted a search," Danny grumbled.

"No I wanted the guy to run so I could chase him down, get in a little cardio this morning, but instead I'm stuck clearing a house." Steve stated, "Not so fun."

"Steve. Gun!" Danny yelled as they came around another corner and standing in the middle of the room, with a gun drawn and still wearing nothing more then his boxers was the man that they had seen at the door.

"Didn't need to deal with guns this morning either," Steve sighed as the man fired off two rounds and Danny and Steve ducked into another room.

Glancing around the door frame, only briefly, Steve caught a glimpse of the man still standing in the middle of the room, the gun aimed at the door, but he didn't run and he didn't move. He just stood there.

"That's odd," Steve whispered to Danny.

"What…"

"He's just standing there," Steve said and with one swift movement he nodded and then laid himself out on his back in the door way as Danny covered him. Steve shot the gun out of the man's hands; Danny bolted forward and tackled the guy to the ground, rolled him onto his stomach and cuffed him.

"That was really, really stupid!" Danny stated.

"I wonder if this is our murder weapon!" Steve smirked as he snapped on a pair of black latex gloves and picked up the man's weapon.

"We'll get that into the crime lab and have a team come out here," Danny stated as he hoisted the man back to his feet. "Sorry you didn't get your chase, babe, but at least you get an interrogation now." Danny smirked.

"Fun" Steve stated with a smile.

"Who are you guys?" the man asked in confusion.

"Five-O," Danny stated. Realizing what he'd said, he found himself looking over at the man suspiciously. "Have you been living under a rock? We're kind of a big deal."

5-0

"How's it, Max," Kono asked as she and Chin walked into the medical examiners office and found Doctor Max Bergman hovering over the body of their male victim.

"It goes," Max smirked as he looked up wearing a pair of glasses with addition magnification making his eyes look huge and comical.

"Do you have anything for us Max?" Chin asked.

"Not much yet, I'm afraid, but I can tell you that the female victim was killed before the male. The time is a matter of twelve or so hours." Max explained.

"Time enough to clean and prep the body," Chin stated.

"Exactly" Max smiled, "both victims died of gun shot wound. We still don't have any ideas as to the woman's identity but I have taken dental impressions and I have started a search for her fingerprints. DNA analysis was my next step with her. The male victim, however, shows signs of struggle. He has multiple gun shot wounds. I retrieved bullets from both bodies and I am almost willing to bet it was the same weapon. The bullets are of the same caliber, fired from the same weapon I am assuming, a 35mm pistol." He explained.

"So who are you?" Chin asked as he looked into the young woman's face. "And why were you with Mr. Robert Aho?"

"I cannot answer that at this time," Max sighed. "Nor can I answer many of my own questions pertaining to these two, but I have not yet completed my investigations."

"But other then what you have already told us, Max, you've got nothing yet?" Kono sighed disheartened.

"Toxicology reports have been sent in on both bodies, I'm waiting on those. Bullet analysis will be handled by the crime lab and I'm waiting on the databases to come up with something that may lead me in the direction of identifying this poor woman. If the killer did anything right, he was thorough in trying to hide her identity." Max stated sympathetically. "I am doing the best that I can."

"I know you are," Kono smiled and then snapped a photograph of the woman's cleaned and tranquil looking face. "Maybe someone at the governor's office can identify her now that she is stripped of all the filth of the crime scene." She added optimistically.

"It's a start." Chin stated, "Thanks so much Max, we'll be in touch." Chin added as his phone chimed. "It looks like Steve and Danny have a new crime scene and a man in custody. They ran into a small altercation at Robert Aho's house."

"Oh, interrogations," Kono perked up.

"If anything, it's always entertaining to watch Steve in action." Chin laughed.

"Let's head back to HQ." Kono winked and waved to Max leaving the medical examiner to work his magic.


	4. Something To Talk About

**A/N: Oh happy day – An update yay!**

**Great news: I finally have a beta and I love her! Everyone welcome Kylen to my story. She's been awesome so far and I love her! My writing is just going to get better with her! Did I mention I love her because she brilliant, and had mad suggestions that just add so much stylistically to the story. She's great *hugs* for Kylen!**

**So, I'm sorry it took so long for an update. I'm having some writers block that kinda stinks and I'm hoping that it will resolve itself come the new season which starts in 11 days! Until then, I'm trying really hard to force myself to put pen to paper, it's been difficult but I am trying. I hassled Kylen to get this chapter beta'ed so that I didn't cause Qweb any withdrawals. Anyway, more to come soon I promise.**

**As always, I own nothing.**

**Enjoy.**

Chapter 4: Something to Talk About

_Let's give them something to talk about; A little mystery to figure out, babe. Let's give them something to talk about. How about love…_ - Bonnie Raitt

"His name is Christopher Ember," Chin stated as he worked at the smart computer. "He's got multiple misdemeanor charges, just got off of his resent bonds and had a final closing meeting with his bondsman on Monday. He's spent time in rehab and completed sixty hours of community service."

"So why was he in Robert Aho's house?" Steve asked.

"No idea," Chin sighed with a shrug, "as far as we can tell he doesn't have any ties to Aho, or the island, but came out here from Washington where his family continues to reside. There is nothing else in his record that would suggest he'd ever known Aho or even came into contact with him."

"Does he have a record in Washington?" Steve asked.

"No, he's clean out there, but his brother is a big time bad guy." Chin answered.

"Hmm," Steve sighed and turned as Kono threw open her office door and interrupted the conversation.

"The gun you got off Ember isn't a match to the bullets Max retrieved from our victims but the bullets in the victims are a match to each other," Kono walked to the smart table and began pulling up the information that Max and Charlie had just conference called into Five-O. "But get this; the gun you retrieved was registered to an Abigail Westerhaus." Kono added and pulled up the credentials and drivers license for the woman. "Does she look familiar to you Chin?" Kono asked and then threw the photo she'd taken at the medical examiners office up onto the screen.

"That's our female victim," Chin smiled.

"Maybe the governor can tell us something about her after all," Steve stated.

"Why do you say that, boss?" Kono asked in confusion.

Steve tapped a picture of the list of Abigail's credentials. "She's a party and wedding planner and the governor's ball is coming up."

"What does a party planner need a gun for?" Danny asked.

"I don't know, but I'm sure the governor isn't planning his ball all by himself." Steve smirked.

"So where does your suspect come in?" Chin asked. "You can't hold him if you don't have anything on him."

"We need to know why he was in Aho's house with Westerhaus' gun." Steve stated. "That is plenty to hold him for questioning."

"Well, then I guess it's time to ask him." Danny smirked and headed out of the office.

"You coming, Cuz?" Chin asked before they'd all left and Kono remained standing at the smart table.

"No, you guys go ahead. I have something I want to check on." Kono looked back at the table, already starting something, but took time to catch Danny's eye.

"Suit yourself." Chin chuckled and followed Steve.

"You got something else?" Danny asked from the door when Chin and Steve had passed him.

"I might. We'll chat after your interrogation. You had better go and make sure McGarrett doesn't hang the guy off a coat hook by his underwear…that's all the suspect is wearing right?" Kono asked with a smirk and waved Danny on.

"Just his boxers." Danny chuckled and let the glass door close behind him. "And I wouldn't put it past McGarrett."

5-0

"Why were you in that house?" Steve asked as Danny stepped into the interrogation room, carrying with him a rather thick case file, where Steve had been lurking to make the suspect nervous.

"Look, I told you already, my brother died."

"No, Christopher, your brother did not die. He's in the pen, in Washington State, awaiting the death penalty, but he'd not dead yet." Danny stated with the file in his hands. "He will be soon, though, and rightly so, he's been convicted on five counts of first degree murder of prostitutes in the state of Washington. They called him Jack the Ripper. Is that why you left Washington and came out here to Hawaii? To avoid being associated with your brother and his horrendous crimes, because that's what they were when he slashed and mutilated those women with medical equipment from his lab at the University of Washington?"

"Yes we know who you really are," Steve stated as the young man spun around to look at him. "So please, I'm asking you nicely, tell us why you were in that house."

"Okay, fine," Christopher stated, "but I wanna deal. I'll tell you everything as long as you don't charge me. I can't afford another stint in the pen."

"You wanna deal?" Danny asked with a laugh. "Dude, you're on the hook for murder. There will be no deal, only you joining your bother on death row."

"What?" Christopher gasped.

Steve nodded.

"Yup, double homicide. Not as ugly as your brother, but still pretty bad."

"No, no, no, you got this all wrong. I was just doing Robert Aho a favor. He found me in one of the shelters on the island. He asked me if I needed a place to stay and I did, so he put me up and asked me to house-sit while he went on vacation." Christopher sighed as he ran a nervous hand across his sweating brow. "He paid me a thousand dollars to stay in the house for a month, to keep it clean and the yard managed. He bough me food and everything and then he left – said he was going to the main land to visit his parents or something."

"Just a month?" Danny asked suspiciously.

"Yeah, and I've only been in the house for two days."

"Was this the guy that hired you?" Danny asked and flashed the autopsy picture of Robert Aho across his phone's screen.

"No, I don't know who that man is!" Christopher stated.

"That is Robert Aho!" Steve's voice rose from calm to furious.

"No man, you're wrong, that's not the guy who hired me. I swear to you, that is not the guy."

"Which shelter did the guy fine you at?" Danny asked calmly.

"St. Mark's down in Waikiki."

"And what about the gun," Steve moved closer and crowded into Christopher's personal space. "The one that you were wielding when my partner and I found you this morning."

"That was in the bedside table! I didn't know it was there until I found it this morning to use to defend myself." The man's voice seemed to bleed honesty. "Seriously, it was there when I got there. It's not mine. Check my file, I'm not a gun guy, I've never actually fired one before in my life. My previous charges are all small time scams and car robberies. I did it because I needed the money to buy drugs, but I'm clean now and I'm trying to get back on my feet. I'm not a gun guy, I swear." He babbled nervously as the sweat began to poor off his body. He twitched and his voice hitched, but he couldn't move from his spot and the close proximity to Steve was bringing on a full blown panic.

"We could tell," Danny said with a sigh.

"And we know it's not yours," Steve stated.

"The gun belongs to this woman. Do you know her?" Danny asked and showed another autopsy photo.

"No, sorry, I've never seen her before either." Christopher answered, "she's dead too, isn't she?" he asked as panic crossed his face and the handcuffs began to rattle again the chair leg they were attached to.

"Yes," Danny answered.

"Oh God, oh God!" The words came out as a chant as he started to rock himself in the chair he was handcuffed too.

"Are you alright?" Steve asked as he watched the colour leaved the young man's face and the rocking turned to a tremor.

"No," Christopher stated. "I didn't kill anybody." He yelled as he shook from head to toe.

"Un-cuff him!" Danny yelled as the man's eyes rolled back in his head.

"What. Why?" Steve asked but did as he was told, as the man slipped out of the chair and onto the floor.

"The file says he has epilepsy. He's having a seizure." Danny stated as Christopher fell out of Steve's grasp and continued to shake on the floor.


	5. Bad Company

**A/N: Hello again. Here I have for you a little build up. Hope you like it.**

Chapter 5: Bad Company

_A company – always on the run, a destiny – toward the rising sun, I was born - shot-gun in my hand, behind a gun – I'll make my final stand. That's why they call me…bad company, I can't deny, bad company, until the day I die…_ - Bad Company

"Whoa brah, you look like crap!" Kono stated as Danny walked into her officer and sat down before her desk. "What happened?"

"The suspect had a grand mal seizure in the middle of the interrogation room. Steve and Chin are with him on the way to the hospital and I'm back here to try and check out his alibi." Danny's answer came to an end with a definite sigh.

"Oh my God, is he okay? Did he come out of it?"

"He was conscious when the paramedics arrived – if that is what you are asking, but it was touch and go for a while there and I couldn't tell you if the seizure did any lasting damage. Either way, I believe him, I don't think he had anything to do with our murders and he was just keeping some really bad company." Danny sighed and ran his hands through his hair.

"Are you going to be okay?" Kono asked as she noticed the colour was also gone from Danny's face.

"Yeah, I'll be fine, I'm kinda glad that I got to stay behind to work it off."

"Give me the down low and I'll get right on that," Kono smiled and closed the file she'd been perusing. "Or would you rather get into things yourself?"

"I came back up here to help you out. Christopher says he was picked up by some one pretending to be Robert Aho at St. Mark's Shelter down in Waikiki – three days ago."

"That's in line with the victims deaths," Kono stated but something else crossed her face.

"What? Kono, you've been doing that face thing all day, and Steve's the one that usually does the face thing. What are you not telling me?" Danny asked as he sat on the edge of his chair.

"It's just all of this case seems way too coincidental." This time, Kono sighed. "From the deaths of our victims, to the way they were dumped and now this. Tell me something, Danny, did someone pay Christopher to stay in Aho's house – and not a big sum of money? He was targeted because he was poor and vulnerable, and probably in desperate need of shelter. Am I right?"

"Yeah, how did you know that?"

"It's the M.O., you're suspect is telling the truth," Kono stated brightly, "and I bet St. Mark's Shelter has a free clinic affiliated with it." Kono added and jumped out of her chair and rushed for the smart computer.

"What M.O., what are you talking about?" Danny asked as he rushed after her.

"The case, the one you told me to take on and follow from beginning to end. This is it. This is the one I was going to tell you about. I had no idea it would come up like this, but I've been following similar cases, all with the same M.O. but in different countries, so they aren't linked up in the usual sense, and because they happen so irregularly, I don't believe that anyone is actually following them as a group of cases, but rather, isolated incidences."

Kono paused, then reached over to bring up street camera footage.

"Look at this. That's St. Mark's and their free walk in clinic. I bet if we go back a few days we'll find your suspect and the man that hired him." She smiled proudly.

"Good work Kono." Danny smiled. "Now tell me about this case of yours."

5-0

"That was Danny. He needs us to go down to St. Mark's. They have a few surveillance cameras of their own and they're going to give us footage to go through." Steve stated as Chin came to meet him outside of the hospital and he hung up his phone. "It sounds like our guy may have been keeping some bad company and that's all, but Kono seems to think we'll find a real suspect on that surveillance footage."

"That's enough to put him back in jail." Chin stated as he followed Steve to the truck. "If he's hanging out with other convicted felons, that's a violation of his probation."

"Danny seems to think he's telling the truth and after what happened to him in our interrogation, I kinda feel sorry for the guy. I don't want to charge him if we can get around it."

"So we're back to square one." Chin sighed. "That is unless we can get a hit off the surveillance."

"Danny also said that Kono may have broken this case for us," Steve said as he stopped and leaned on the truck looking across the hood at Chin who's smile of pride stretched from ear to ear. "It sounds like it's a serial case – did you know anything about it?"

"No, Kono doesn't tell me everything." Chin laughed. "But occasionally she lets something slip."

"Well, Danny said she's got a profile all lined up for us, all we need now is the evidence to back up her theory."

"Then what are we waiting for?"

"The manager at the shelter has already been contacted so we're grabbing the tapes and heading back to H.Q. for a debriefing." Steve said. He slid into the driver seat of the truck as Chin hopped into the passenger side.


	6. Diamonds Are Forever

**A/N: Happy Wednesday Everyone! Hope you all enjoyed this week's episode as much as I did. **

**So here were, the plot thickens! Hope you like it!**

Chapter 6: Diamonds Are Forever

_Diamonds are forever, they are all I need to please me. They can stimulate and tease me. They won't leave in the night; I've no fear that they might desert me. Diamonds are forever. Hold one up and then caress it, touch it, stroke it and undress it. I can see every part; nothing hides in the heart to hurt me…_ - Shirley Bassey

"We got em," Steve stated as he and Chin walked back into HQ to find the computers abuzz with information and activity. "What is all this?" he asked after a quick look around.

"Alright, Rookie, show em what you're made of." Danny smiled as he moved out of the way to give Kono the floor.

"Okay, so for a few months now, I've been working on a little pet project. I'd read a case study on an unsolved robbery out of California a few years ago that struck me as odd, and as I started digging I found six other cases, all unsolved, and all fitting the same M.O as that case in California. So I started wondering, and rightfully so, when something like that would happen in Hawaii, because we are ideally situated," Kono explained as she pointed to the first of several monitors around the room.

"And what is the M.O exactly?" Steve asked as he folded his arms and watched Kono with interest.

"Two bodies are found in a shallow grave with ties to squatters in one of the victim's house and with a party planner always one of the victims. The second victim was always a security agent, a police officers or a bouncer from a high-profile club or venue," Kono explained. "Ultimately, I believe that the two victims knew each other but that doesn't mean that they were acquainted with each other in any way other then being employed for a large, formal event, but this is just speculation at this point."

"Well, if that's the M.O. why haven't we heard of it as a high-profile federal investigation?" Steve asked.

"Because California has been the only other American state that I've been able to link up with this M.O," Kono stated.

"But you said there were six other cases," Chin observed.

"Yes, exactly, and with ours it brings to total to eight, with unsolved murders and robberies happening in Australia, Canada, Japan, the Philippines, Singapore and Panama."

"All Pacific rim countries, with large shipping trade," Chin said with a nod.

"Exactly," Kono stated, "and all these crimes have happened in a time period spanning ten years. I'm sure if I dug deeper I'd find matching unsolved cases in almost any country or city that boasts a high tourist population that goes hand in hand with their access to a busy shipping port."

"I don't get it, why link a party planner to shipping?" Steve asked.

"Because, every murdered party planner has ties to huge high-profile events that were hit by a heist crew within ten to fourteen days of the murders. The heist crew hits these large, charitable parties, stealing millions in luxury cars, cash and jewelry, never to be seen again." Kono motioned to the second screen. "They target primarily young, wealthy couples and seem to take more jewelry then anything else, and along with the governor's ball coming up at the end of the week, the governor of Hawaii also throws a huge charity beach party that attracts the young, the rich and the beautiful. Security will be higher at the Governor's Ball, so the beach party would be the party of opportunity for our suspects."

"Red carpet treatment, lots of money being thrown around and shipping trade is booming in Pearl Harbor. In one night, the thieves could make millions, load all the loot onto a tanker ship and be gone the next morning," Danny stated. "It's piracy at its basics."

"And they set up two murders to keep local law enforcement busy and none the wiser to their scheme," Steve said as the plot became clearer. "But can you prove it?"

"If we can get the guy off the clinic surveillance maybe we can match him to surveillance footage we can obtain from the harbor. And with people on the inside at the party maybe we can stop them and put an end to their illegal trade. If we can catch them red handed, it's one thing, but if we can get the ship that they smuggle the goods with, we may put an end to these murders and thefts. I'm sure to pull off a heist of this magnitude, we aren't just looking for one murder suspect, but a whole organization," Kono stated passionately.

"We can tag the cars and the jewels of the undercover agents that we put inside the party. When and if the crew takes the bait, we can use the tracking devices to follow them to their mode of transportation," Danny suggested.

"We can't justify it until we have proof." Steve sighed. "We need to get something off that footage. In the meantime, Kono, I hope you're a fan of diamonds." He added with a smirk, "Because you're the one going in, if we're sending in our own mark."


	7. Renegade

**A/N: Hello everyone. Here is a little filler chapter for you – builds up some of the Steve and Danny rivalry. It's kinda fun – the cargument at the end.**

**Enjoy**

Chapter 7: Renegade

_Oh mama, I'm in fear for my life from the long arm of the law. Lawman had put an end to my running and I'm so far from my home. Oh mama, I can hear you a crying you're so scared and all alone. Hangman is coming down from the gallows and I don't have very long…_ - Styx

"Gotcha," Kono stated from the computer as she painstakingly shuffled through hours of footage.

"What?" Steve asked as he came around the system.

"This guy, he's caught on the street surveillance, the shelter surveillance and the camera inside the clinic's waiting room where he walks up to Christopher, sits down and spend most of the evening in conversation with him before they leave together after Christopher has seen the doctor. The guy literally sits, exactly where Christopher had left him, waiting, and when Christopher comes out of his appointment he gets up and escorts Christopher out of the shelter's clinic," Kono explained as she walked Steve through the meeting of Christopher Ember and their mystery man as well as them leaving together in a brown four-wheel drive truck that was once again caught on the surveillance outside the shelter on the street. "We need to find that truck. It is the key to this investigation, or at least leading us in the right direction."

"Can you isolate that license plate?" Steve asked and Kono zoomed in. "Perfect, run that plate number for me."

"Will do," Kono smiled and then frowned as the system pinged right away. "The vehicle was pulled from the canal this morning." The police report popped up on the screen. "HPD have taken it back to the crime lab for analysis, but if there is anything to be found, it won't stand up in court now that it has conveniently taken a swim."

"Danny and I will head down to HPD and see what they can tell us about the case. We might still be able to get something out of that truck that will lead us to bigger and better things. If it tells us anything, it's that our killers are trying to cover their tracks, but we're onto them." Steve sighed as he looked on at the lack of information that had appeared on the screen. "You keep running our mystery man's photo to see if we can get any hits with facial recognition. He wasn't smart enough to hide his face from all of those cameras so you should be able to isolate the perfect shot to flag him for us."

"I'm on it." Kono nodded as Steve waved Danny out of his office and the pair left HQ together.

5-0

"So what's going on with Kono?" Steve asked Danny once they were in the car together and heading to the HPD precinct.

"Nothing," Danny answered shortly.

Steve looked sideways at his partner and fell silent.

"I know you're suspicious about something," Danny sighed.

"Yeah."

"So just ask already."

"I just did and you said it was nothing!"

"It is nothing!"

"Then why is Kono developing case ideas and following international events?" Steve asked as he threw his hands up and off of the steering wheel, then slammed them back down again.

"How should I know?" Danny huffed. "Are you trying to tell me that she can't have a hobby? She has taken an interest in a case; I think it's a good thing for a young officer to take interest in cases. Besides, her curiosity may have broken this case for us, so why are you complaining? She's making our lives so much easier, or would you rather be the one going through all of that footage, grasping at straws, and not solving this case?"

"You're hiding something for her," Steve accused. "I can tell."

"I'm not hiding anything. Kono asked me for my opinion on whether she should try for her detectives' exam or not and I told her that I was all for higher education but that if she was unsure maybe she should head up a case first and that's just what she's doing now."

Steve looked sideways at his partner again.

"I'm not lying."

"I know you're not," Steve sighed.

"But you're disappointed with my answer."

"No, I'm all for Kono becoming a detective. She's already working as one. I should probably do it too. I was just expecting something else."

"I don't wanna know what you thought I was hiding." Danny shook his head.

"I don't know what I thought you were hiding." Steve huffed.

"That's because I wasn't actually hiding anything and you are paranoid!" Danny yelled.

"I'm not paranoid. I'm rationally concerned."

"That's my line."

"We'll I'm just following your lead. I don't want to see Kono get messed up in anymore blackmail," Steve stated.

"Ah, and that is what you thought I was hiding, Mr. 'I'm just going to get on an airplane and run away for weeks on end and all I'm going to do is leave a note,'" Danny huffed.

"I said I was sorry for that."

"Yeah, right and then you left again," Danny stated. "So really, who should be the paranoid, un-trusting, person in this car…I think it should be me."

Steve rolled his eyes.

"But, because I am good friend and because I trust you enough to know when you're hiding shit and when you're not, I will offer you my services. If you are serious about the detective exam we could plan a study party because I've already promised to help Kono with her studying."

"Ha, I don't need you to help me study for the detective's exam." Steve laughed.

"Dude, I'm an awesome teacher and detective. Kono's going to score higher then you because of my help." Danny stated defensively.

"Wanna bet?"

"Ohhhh, it's on. My rookie is going to kick your rookie ass."

"I'm no rookie."

"Neither you or Kono are detectives, which puts you both at the starting line together. Sure your father was a great detective, so I hear, but at the same time, law enforcement is Kono's family business. You two are going in very evenly matched." Danny mused, "Therefore you, my friend, are a rookie and you are getting no help from me."

"Fine. I'll show you."

"I look forward to it, Steven."


	8. Separate Ways

**A/N: Here is just a little update for all of you. Hope you like it. The rivalry is on!**

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 8: Separate Ways

_Here we stand, worlds apart, hearts broken in two, two, two. Sleepless nights, losing ground, I'm reaching for you, you, you. Feelin' that it's gone can change your mind; if we can't go on to survive the tide love divides. Someday love will fine you, break those chains that bind you. One night will remind you how we touched and went our separate ways…_ - Journey

Steve and Danny walked into the garage attached to the precinct to find their brown pickup truck still dripping water all over the floor as the crime scene technicians tried their best to analyze the soggy mess.

"What did you find, Charlie?" Steve asked as Sergeant Duke Lukela handed him a file and turned the case over to Five-O who had called ahead and requested it – or rather, Danny dialed and Steve demanded.

"Not much yet, I'm afraid. The water has served its purpose and destroyed most of the evidence, but there are ways, even when wet, to make the truth come out. We'll see what we can find," Charlie stated optimistically.

"And what is up with this case?" Steve asked as he turned to face Duke.

"The truck was reported stolen three days ago," Duke stated. "It's not much of a case. Why is Five-O interested in it?"

"Because it was featured in some surveillance for our current case, and a mystery man seen driving it," Steve answered.

"You can talk to the man who reported it missing. His name is in the file and, from what I understand about the whole ordeal, he did see someone take the truck. It's a vague description but at least it's a place to start," Duke said optimistically.

"It's also well in line with the murders of our two victims," Danny added. "So any description is a good description."

"Murders." Charlie perked up.

"Yeah, you're already investigating that case," Danny stated with confusion.

"Don't look so confused, Detective. I'm just curious now that I know you believe that the truck has ties to your murder victims."

"Why is that?" Danny asked.

"Because water, in itself, isn't going to wash away all the blood – if there is blood to be found, I will find it. It takes more then a little rain water to cover that kind of evidence, but if it is there, I will find it with this," Charlie stated and jumped into the back of the truck with his ultraviolet wand. "We've got blood and lots of it." he added as Steve and Danny came and looked into the truck bed.

"Nice work Charlie," Steve smiled. "I hope you can get me some prints and match that blood."

"I'll do my best." Charlie nodded and began a whole other barrage of tests on the truck.

"So what do you think?" Danny asked as he and Steve walked out of the HPD garage toward the awaiting Camaro.

"Steal a truck to dump the bodies and then dump the truck," Steve stated. "With the hope that the high water level in the canal from the rain will have enough time to wash away all the evidence that you've left behind, or that the truck isn't found until after you've completed the rest of your tasks here on the island before you move on to your next target."

"Yeah, now we need something that ties our mystery man to that truck and the blood that the rain water did not wash away." Danny sighed.

"Well hopefully _your_ rookie will have something for us when we get back to the office," Steve stated competitively as he fell into the driver seat.

5-0

"Anything yet?" Chin asked as he exited his office and made his way to the smart computer.

"Sorta," Kono answered. "I'm still waiting on facial recognition to tell me who our mystery man is, but what I was able to piece together from street cams is rather interesting. The dump was caught on the street cams from two different angles. Our guy goes into the water with the truck and surfaces two minutes later down the canal and right in frame of another camera, where he is picked up by a woman in a red mustang convertible with the top up."

"Please tell me you got another license plate."

"One better, I have an ID on the girl." Kono smiled and zoomed in on the driver's side of the car. "Her name is Holly Bails, and she works for the same party planning agency as Abigail Westerhaus."

"Well let's head over to the agency's office and see if we can't talk to Miss Bails," Chin stated.

"We can't, not yet at least." Kono sighed and pulled up more footage. "Holly drove to the airport, got out of her car and the mystery man took over and left. I checked with the airlines and Holly flew out an hour ago on her way to New York for fashion week. According to her representatives at the agency, she won't be back in Hawaii until later this month. She's gone."

"Shoots." Chin sighed. "What about the mystery man?"

"I followed the car on the street cams as far as I could, but I lost him when he left Honolulu on his way into the valley," Kono answered. "If the party planning agency is the link we need, maybe the governor can identify the mystery man. He seems to be linked up with all the right girls."

"But we don't want to tip the agency off and spook the heist crew," Chin stated.

"True, but Steve is always very effective at getting the Governor to go along with our plans." Kono smiled.

"So you want to send McGarrett in to see if he can convince the Governor to use his ball and beach party as a trap for a heist crew that may or may not even be on the island?" Chin asked. "That is a bold move."

"No, I wanna send McGarrett and Kelly in to convince the Governor so that you two are the only ones seen. If you get recognized by anyone that might be working on the Governor's staff for the party, then it covers Danny and I. We go under cover to the party to plant the tagged goods," Kono said with a smile.

"I'm your guinea pig now?" Chin laughed.

"No, you're the distraction."

Chin shook his head, "I'm going to let you pitch that idea to the big Kahuna around here."

Kono smiled even brighter.

"But I have your back, one hundred percent, if you get Steve on board."

"Thank you, Cuz." Kono stated as Chin headed back into his own office.

5-0

"You, my office, now!" Danny stated as he marched right up to Kono and pushed her toward his office.

"What did I do?" Kono asked in mock shock at the anger that had taken over the usually fiery detective.

"Kono's in trouble," Steve teased and headed off to his office.

"Why are you pushing me?" Kono asked as the door closed behind her and she and Danny were left alone in the room.

"Because we have a problem."

"You got nothing off the truck?"

"No, Charlie is still running tests. Our problem is bigger then that."

"What did you do?" Kono asked as she placed both her hands on her hips and stared down Danny.

"McGarrett knows you are thinking of trying for your detective tests and now he's determined to do them too, and I may or may not have bet him that you will do better then he will so we have to start studying," Danny explained in a voice that spoke more of anxiety then excitement.

"Are you still going to help me?" Kono asked in shock.

"Damn right I am!" Danny stated, his confidence returning.

"Alright, we can get started on my studying as soon as you find out who our mystery man is, and convince Steve that he needs to get the governor to get on board with our plan to infiltrate the parties. The catch is you have to convince him to leave you behind and take Chin so that we are relative ghosts to the heist crew."

"That's easy," Danny stated with a wave of his hand. "Do you think the governor will be able to identify the mystery man?"

"I believe he is our best bet at singling him out."

"Then Steve will be on board faster then you can say Detective Officer Kono Kalakaua."


	9. Man-eater

**A/N: Hey everyone, just a little update today. I hope to have rants done shortly as well, but a cold has kicked my butt for the past week and I've been struggling to get anything done. I hope you can forgive me for the delays in everything but I hope to have much more to update as soon as I start feeling better.**

Chapter 9: Man-eater

_She'll only come out at night - the lean and hungry type. Nothing is new; I've seen her here before – watching and waiting. She's sitting with you but her eyes are on the door. So many have paid to see what you think you're getting for free. The woman is wild, a she-cat tamed by the purr of a Jaguar – Money's the matter. If you're in it for love you ain't gonna get too far. Oh here she comes, watch out boy she'll chew you up. Oh here she comes; she's a man-eater_ – Hall and Oates

Kono walked out of Danny's office and right up to Steve and Chin. The look on her face told Chin that there was mischief afoot – it was a look he'd seen many time when Kono was young. She was just about to get exactly what she wanted.

"Danny needs to see you, Chin," Kono said with a nod that sent her cousin away. "As for you," Kono added as she turned to Steve, "we need to talk."

"I'm in trouble now, aren't I?" Steve asked with a grin.

"No," Kono stated and her whole look changed. "I need you to go to the governor with the photos of our mystery man and his accomplice and see if Denning can't identify them – we already know who the girl is but I want to know if she is the link or if she is just a bystander. Danny has contacted some of his friends back in New York and New Jersey and they are going to look into Holly Bails and hold her if we get anything substantial on her."

"Sometimes it's just so nice to have a Jerseyan on the team," Steve said jokingly.

"Our reach is much farther then people think," Kono added with a smirk. "But, aside from her driving herself to the airport, and picking our mystery man out of the canal, we have nothing on her, so I need you to get Denning to identify her."

"I'll take Danny and we'll go right away," Steve said as he took the file full of photos from Kono.

"No, Danny is staying with me. You need to take Chin."

"And give you free study time with Danny?" Steve asked accusingly. "I don't think so."

"No, I need Danny to remain anonymous and unrecognizable, because he is the one that will be going undercover with me. I believe that our heist crew is more involved then just our mystery man, and I can't risk Danny being recognized by an accomplice while we're undercover. So you have to go to Denning, with Chin, and get his full cooperation into our investigation. Danny and I are going to continue running our mystery man through facial recognition to see if we can't find out who he is and who his accomplices are."

"All right."

"Also," Kono said as she moved to return to Danny's office, "you're going down, McGarrett, and even if you did think that the extra study time would help me, you are sadly mistaken. I'd kick your butt right here and now."

"You think so, do you?" Steve asked with a smile.

"Bring it on."

5-0

"You don't know what you're getting into," Chin stated as he and Steve walked out of the palace and hopped into Danny's Camaro.

"It's just a little friendly competition," Steve said with a shake of his head. "It's not going to mean anything and it's going to keep Kono driven."

"You keep telling yourself that."

"Have they recruited you to be part of Kono's coaching?" Steve asked with a laugh. "That's why you were called into the principal's office, wasn't it?"

"No, I was called in to make sure I didn't give you any help, and I stuck up for you. Kono may have grown up around cops. She may have been born into a life of police work, but she's also one of the most competitive people I have ever known, even more then you. It will take more than threats for you to overtake Kono and when people tell her she can't do something, she is hell bent to prove them wrong. Look at her and her surfing. The doctors told her she'd never compete again but you and I both know that she's got her sights on the Hawaiian Open this year. She's going into that without sponsors or endorsements, with a mucked-up knee from her previous competitions, and the same fighting spirit she's always had. Coral Prince may be behind her because she was once a champion for them, but they aren't promoting her in this run, they have their own, new, champions to promote, but that's not going to stop Kono. Now, you've also grown up in a family of cops, you've seen the worst of the world, and you've become a Navy SEAL. In one respect, you and Kono are extremely evenly matched, but because Kono is a woman, she'll fight just that much harder to prove to the world – a world where sexism is still a problem - that she's just as capable as anyone."

"So you're backing me, or are you backing Kono?" Steve asked.

"I'm backing my cousin, brah," Chin said and laughed. "She's blood."

"That's fair enough, but just because Kono is a woman, doesn't mean I'm going to go easy on her. I will kick her ass because I can be just as competitive as anyone else."

"And if you don't?" Chin asked.

"I haven't thought that far ahead."

5-0

Steve and Chin walked into the Governor's mansion and were led into the sitting room that acted as the waiting room. Forty-five minutes into their wait, the Governor and his assistant came out of the office and walked through the waiting room.

"If Five-O wants to talk, they are going to have to follow me. I don't have time for a sit down right now," Denning stated and Chin and Steve jumped to their feet and followed at a quick pace. "With my security compromised and one party planner already dead, we've had to scramble to get things back on track if we're going to throw these parties by the end of the week."

"We believe that you still make be compromised, Governor," Steve stated and handed a pair of photos to Dennings. "Do you recognize these two people?"

"Holly Bails was working very closely with Abigail Westerhaus," Denning stated. "She was her assistant and when Abigail first went missing Holly was promoted, but Holly was also working very closely with another woman out of New York and has since been sent to New York to pick up her obligations there. This man is Holly's replacement, and by default Abigail's, Mr. Richard Blanchard. He's based out of California and was flown out here to Hawaii as soon as we found out Abigail was dead."

"He was here long before Abigail died," Steve stated. "Do you know where he is now?"

"Yes, of course, he's with my people planning the party. I've given him an office downstairs," Dennings stated.

Steve stopped, grabbed the Governor by the arm and pulled him into a washroom. Chin checked all the stalls and locked the door before Steve spoke again.

"He's the man that we believe murdered Abigail and the man in charge of your security," Steve said. "We have him on surveillance dumping the vehicle that was reported stolen and which we believe he used to transport and dump the bodies. Now we don't know how many more of his men – or women – are here helping him, but we believe that he is targeting your Ball and Beach Party for a much bigger reason. We believe he's tied to an international heist crew. They target huge benefits and charitable events and, in one night, can make off with millions of dollars worth of jewelry, money and luxury vehicle. We want to put undercover agents in both parties. It would be one thing for us to save the parties, but it would be better to lock down the whole heist crew and end their illegal smuggling operations. We believe that they have targeted eight major cities in the Pacific Rim."

Denning's eyes grew wide as Steve told his story.

"You want me to risk the safety of my guests?" Denning asked in shock.

"They will be safe," Chin said with a slight nod. "From what we have put together, no one at the parties have been hurt. It's not part of their MO. They want to get in, get the loot and get out. We plan to plant cars, jewels and money on Danny and Kono that will lead us to whatever method of transport the robbers are using to smuggle their goods. We believe that they are more likely to hit the Beach Party and Red Carpet Gala on Friday night, over the Ball on Saturday."

"So Kono and Danny will be in attendance on Friday night and we'll have the whole venue surrounded," Steve explained. "Once the heist has taken place, our people will move in to calm your guests while we follow the robbers."

"What about your two victims?" Dennings asked.

"We believe that those people were killed as a distraction for police, and so that they could move in on your events to have an insiders' eyes," Steve explained.

"All right, you have my cooperation," Dennings said after a long moment of contemplation. "But if you can get this resolved before Friday night, I would prefer not to put my people in danger."

"We prefer that as well," Chin stated, "but this crew could be huge and our only suspect at this time is Mr. Blanchard." Chin unlocked the door to the washroom and held it open for the Governor.

"You need to go on now, exactly as if you were completely oblivious to what was happening," Steve stated as he and Chin, and the Governor of Hawaii moved on and continued through the mansion and down to the lower levels.

"All right," Dennings answered. "Keep me posted, gentlemen."

"Governor, I need to have a word with you," the mystery man stated as he started to climb the stairs.

"I'm sorry, the Governor is not taking any interviews at this time," Chin stated as he stepped forward and stopped Mr. Blanchard in his tracks.

"I'm sorry, who are you?" Blanchard asked. "I am the primary party planner for the Governor and I need to talk to him right away."

"And I'm Five-O and the Governor has urgent business pertaining to the safety of Hawaii to deal with," Chin stated and again blocked Blanchard as Denning and his assistant tried to make their way around him.

"This will only take a minute, sir," Blanchard stated and again he tried to evade Chin.

"I'm afraid that isn't going to happen," Steve stated as the Governor and his assistant walked around Blanchard and away down the stairs. "Because you, have been relieved of your duties here at the mansion. You'll be coming with us." He added and handcuffed the man and led him away before anyone else could see the commotion.


	10. Carry On My Wayward Son

**A/N Hello Again … I know it's been a long time since I updated this story and I'm so sorry about that. I am working very hard to pick up the pieces and get back into the swing of things. I have it all planned out, not I just have to write it. Also, my current BETA, whom I love, is just too swamped right now to BETA for me so if there any interested parties out there who are interested in helping me out, please PM me. I could use all the help I can get.**

**Anyway, I hope you like this chapter. **

Chapter 10: Carry On My Wayward Son

_Masquerading as a man with a reason, my charade is the event of the season, and if I claim to be a wise man, well, it surely means that I don't know. On a stormy sea of moving emotion, tossed about I'm like a ship on the ocean. I set a course for winds of fortune, but I hear the voices say… - Kansas_

Chin tossed his badge, his weapon and anything that played to his cop persona into the trunk of the Camaro as Steve shoved the suspect into the back seat of the car and slammed the car door.

"I'll be right back," Chin stated as he shut the trunk.

"I'm not going anywhere without you," Steve said with a smirk and watched as Chin dashed across the mansion's lawn toward a delivery truck.

5-0

"Now what am I supposed to do?" Governor Denning growled when Chin walked back into the mansion wearing a cap and carrying a very large floral arrangement – two other men wearing the same logo and caps followed him. "You told me to go on exactly as planned and then you arrest the guy?" Denning added and watched Chin with suspicion and curiosity.

"Blanchard has a whole team doesn't he?" Chin asked.

"Yes, he came with two new assistants and the company sent over a second planner who is more familiar with the island but if Blanchard is in custody don't you think that will tip them off?" the governor asked.

"Yes and no, but we have ways of monitoring those kinds of things. Do you like these hydrangeas?" Chin asked with a smile.

"I guess. Why does it matter?"

"Because there is a camera in them, now follow me and keep to the plan."

5-0

"All right people listen up," Governor Denning stated as he walked into the office he'd assigned as the planning headquarters for his parties. "Mr. Blanchard has been taken into custody under suspicion of car jacking. As such he's been relieved of his duties. I'm beginning to think my parties have been cursed, but I can't cancel with the first only three days away. So Mia and Kayley will be taking over. I hope that you two are capable of picking up where Mr. Blanchard left off. I would assume that things are pretty much in order this close to the actual event. Now you just have to pull them off. Can you do that?"

Both women nodded as absolute silence fell over the office.

"Good, then we're still a go for Friday and Saturday. I'm looking forward to it people. These are two of my biggest fund raisers of the year. Don't let me down!" Denning announced and then turned to leave.

"Sir, what about Mr. Blanchard?" The one named Mia asked.

"Guilty or not, he's been taken in for questioning and I'll not have him back because I don't trust him and I don't have time for this aggravation, so you will take over. I've had nothing but aggravation with this party, and although I know that you are trying your best, I really feel like a lot of this could have been avoided, and unless you can pull off two of the best parties I have ever had, I will not be using your company again, nor will you get a good review from me. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes sir," The two ladies stated in unison.

"You, Mia, are from these islands and I believe you'll be perfectly capable of finishing this party business, and it will be a great success. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have other business to deal with. Please deal with these florists," Denning added and motioned over his shoulder to the doorway where three men stood hidden almost completely by enormous flower arrangements.

"Yes Sir," Mia stated again and half heartedly smiled at Chin and his companions as she motioned them into the office.

"These look great gentlemen. We'll choose one of the four arrangements for the table settings and the governor's ball, and we'll get back to you by the end of the day. You can have them ready in three days, right?" she asked.

"Yes ma'am," one of the others answered. "We have all of the flower already ordered and in stock, now all you have to do is finalize the designs."

"Good, you can just put them down over there, along that wall," She said and then moved away in what seemed like a bigger rush then was necessary.

Chin did as he was told, turned to his two colleagues and when they had finished they walked out together

5-0

"Kamekona, thank you so much," Chin stated as he handed his cap back to the big guy and waved to the other men.

"No problem, brah, always nice to get my family involved. My Makuahine has been arranging flowers and making leis on this island for thirty years – of course she'd get the governor's contract." Kamekona chuckled as he tapped the side of the delivery truck. "Don't you see the family resemblance?"

"Oh I most certainly do," Chin stated with a laugh. "Entrepreneurs must run wild in your family."

"It does. It's in our blood. One day we will take over in business - all of them," Kamekona said confidently. "We branch out, we evolve with the market, and we are the future of the economy in Hawaii."

"I believe it," Chin said, "and we owe you big guy, big time!" he added and then turned and headed across the lawn and back to where Steve was waiting.

"Danny called. He said they already have audio and video coming out of the mansion," Steve said with a shake of his head as he leaned on the back of the car. "I can't believe that worked."

"I have a few tricks up my sleeve," Chin stated and punch Steve in the arm, "besides, it was Danny's idea. While Kono was convincing you, we were devising a plan, and a pretty awesome plan at that!"

"Clearly, Kono could learn a lot from you."

"She already has," he said with a laugh, "she was in on all of this!"

"I should be worried – I am kinda getting worried."

"Mission accomplished," Chin said as he high fived Steve and they both moved to climb into the car with their suspect.

"Why am I always left out of the loop?" Steve asked once he was back in the car.

"You're not out of the loop, you've played your role perfectly," Chin stated and looked over his shoulder at the suspect in the back seat.

"You have nothing on me." Blanchard stated with a shake of his head.

Chin and Steve exchanged a sideways glance and fell silent causing the man in the back seat more discomfort than he had anticipated.


	11. Love Is A Battlefield

**A/N I know, I know, how can you stand it? Another update in like three days! You're welcome!**

Chapter 11: Love is a Battlefield

_You're beggin' me to go, you're makin' me stay. Why do you hurt me so bad? It would help me to know, do I stand in your way, or am I the best thing you've had? Believe me, believe me, I can't tell you why, but I'm trapped by your love, and I'm chained to your side…_ – Pat Benatar

Back at the office Danny and Kono watched the goings on in the mansion. They counted eight primary individuals in the planning group and had managed to feed those faces into their programs for further identification. Criminal records were already on there way in. They had also caught some of the nuances once the Governor had left. The women in charge hadn't been happy with the scolding they'd gotten - stating, in what they thought was private, that they would never accept a job with the Governor again because of all the hassle the parties and his insistence had been.

"I can't believe it worked," Kono laughed as the two ladies, the ones that Chin had met, stood very close to the flowers and discussed the arrangements and other things that Kono wasn't sure were appropriate for the work place or pertaining to their case in any ways - mostly personal stuff about their loves lives, or rather the lack there of because of this party they have been planning.

"Usually if you aren't expecting a cop you wouldn't even see one," Danny stated. "It was the hat – Chin putting on that hat changed his whole persona."

"What would happen if I made you wear a hat?" Kono asked cheekily.

"You'd ruin the look. I'd be lost without it."

"No one would recognize you at all." Steve said with a laugh as he walked in. "So anything interesting come up?" he asked as he joined Danny and Kono at the Smart table.

"We're getting a lot of hits on people in the office, everyone has a record these days, but nothing conclusive or that merits investigation - or further questioning and harassment on your behalf," Danny said with a sigh as he stretched.

"But I'm looking into associates of your current suspect and the party planning agency. They don't seem as legit as they may appear. I've been looking into their financials and they have deposits for parties that never happened - and we're talking huge parties that ended up canceled at the last minute. I've been doing follow-ups with all of the listed companies and most of them say that they had to sign wavers that details the cancelations and the consequences. Now, I understand having liability for the events, but what I don't understand is how these people are still in business. They seem to have events canceled at an alarming rate - like they are in the business of destroying an event at the eleventh hour." Kono explained.

"That is incredibly suspicious," Steve commented, "and what do these companies have to say about the business in general - what are their reviews liked?" he asked.

"It would seem that they are all quite impressed with the way things have happened, and say that Mr. Blanchard and his company did everything in their power, under terrible circumstances, to have the events, and only at the very last moment, when everything else seemed to be going wrong, did they finally succumb to the cancelation as a last resort."

"That seems normal, and legitimate enough, under the circumstances," Steve said with a sigh.

"Not if you are rigging the circumstances. I mean from the outside looking in, it seems like a very well run company, but once you see how many time they have had to cancel you would start to wonder. The things they don't tell you are the things that speak volumes." Kono stated passionately. "That being said, unless your suspect hands you everything on a silver platter, I'm going to need for you to get the Governor to force the parties to happen - no matter what. If he allows these people to cancel at the last minute, with their liability clause, we may have their leader but they're still going to make off with a bunch of money and we'll have failed this mission. We want to bring down this whole organization, not just Blanchard."

"You got it Kono," Steve stated.

"Good, because if the party happens, then the venders and the workers will get paid, and from what I have been able to uncover, I believe that most of the venders have to sign contracts with the company as well. Within those contracts, there is another clause that states that each organization takes a cut in their pay if the event doesn't happen. It seems fair enough, if you didn't do anything but it was out of your control then you would make your full salary but at least you'd get some compensation. The rest of the money, however, just disappeared into the party business and usually, within weeks or months of the failed endeavor, the company uproots itself and moves on to another location." Kono explained as she tossed around files and photographs from monitor to monitor on the smart system.

"That doesn't sound right at all," Steve said as he watched and read the financial reports and the contractual information.

"No, not while knowing what we know, but from what I have gathered, and the reviews from the customers, most of the time the parties go off without a hitch. The company is well established on the island, its employees make good money and they are well reviewed for the work that they do. They have been here for a long time, several years at least, and I'm guessing, if we look into it, they will have put in bids for the Governor's Ball in other years but were beat out by other companies, or resorts that host the events."

"It sounds like a very elaborate sweet heart scam, don't you think?" Danny asked as he turned to his partner.

"I do, that's exactly what it sounds like." Steve said with a nod. "So, their M.O is to come to the island - or any other city - with good reviews and set up shop. For several years they are actually a legit business, but on the side they sabotage some of the parties to make a little more money, all the while they are looking for that one big party that is going to give them the pay-off they have been searching for. When they finally get that pay-off, they send the local authorities on a wild goose chase, have their heists, and then after having failed so badly with the big party the company pulls out of a city and moves on to greener pastures, but they are still highly reviewed and they have no troubles setting up shop all over again."

"Exactly," Kono stated, "and its all here in black and white." she said as she motioned to the monitors. "Now all we need is the hard evidence of catching them red handed."

"Or a major confession from Blanchard," Danny stated.

"Or that, but you know as well as I do, that we are never that lucky," Steve stated.

"I don't want us to be lucky. I want to go undercover so that I can beat them at their own game." Kono stated.

Steve and Danny nodded their agreement.

"See Steve, she's quick as a whip. I don't have to teach her anything. I just feed the ideas into her head and Kono goes," Danny teased. "You should be worried."

"Kono came up with the ideas all on her own. It had nothing to do with you!" Steve retorted. "I'm not afraid of anything that you think you might be teaching her because I'm pretty sure I already know all of your tricks - and they aren't that impressive. The only person I'm worried about is Kono because she's smart enough to kick my ass."

"Damn right I am," Kono said with a smirk, "but actually, Danny did plant the idea," she confessed, "but I don't think he knew he was doing it at the time. Danny just doesn't trust anyone so his skills are finely tuned in to the nuances of cases and business – apparently. He's the one that called the bluff in the first place."

"Oh I knew it," Danny stated with a nod as he mocked shining his nails on his shirt. "I'm just that good. I'm going to make a stellar detective out of you, young Padawan."

"Again with the Star Wars metaphors?" Kono asked as she and Steve nodded skeptically at Danny.

"Shouldn't you be interrogating someone, or something along those lines?" Danny asked changing the subject.

"I just came by to get you. Wouldn't you like to participate?" Steve asked and there was glee in his eyes as a smile spread across his face and he bounced on the balls of his feet like a school boy itching to get outside and run around.

"Ask Kono. I'm her partner for this - she's the boss of me on this case. All I know is I'm not allowed to give away her cover - or mine."

"Can Danny come out to play?" Steve asked childishly.

"You can go play with Steve," Kono teased.

"Yes!" Danny cheered, "I'm getting some major cabin fever being cooped up here in this place!"

"Wait!" Kono called just before Steve and Danny could leave the office.

The two men turned around dejected and came back to the smart system.

"I have a plan," Kono smirked and headed off with her phone to her ear.

5-0

Richard Blanchard sat smugly in the interrogation room as Chin stood at the door - just waiting for Steve to return.

"Can you tell me why I'm here?" Richard asked with a yawn as he fidgeted with his tie - with his one free hand.

"You're a murder suspect," Chin stated.

Blanchard snorted.

"We have you on camera."

"Oh I'm sure you do," Blanchard chuckled.

Chin raised an eyebrow to the suspect before him as there came knock at the door and Danny and Steve walked in.

Danny wore latex gloves and a white lab coat - with him he carried a clipboard and a field kit.

Chin raised an eyebrow to Steve, "busy day at the lab?" he asked.

"Everyone's on deck with another, bigger, case. So the Doc is getting his own samples," Steve stated and motioned to Danny.

"Get's me out of the lab," Danny said with a sigh as he opened the field kit he'd brought with him. "Not that I care to leave the lab. I'm a scientist. I don't need to be in the field to see all that nastiness, no. I solve the crimes with my mind and computers, and science."

Chin chuckled, "you out of the lab is just a strange occurrence all together."

"Tell me about it," Danny stated sarcastically. "All right, let's get this show on the road. I can't leave my staff unsupervised for long - you know kids these days, with their technology and they holier then thou attitudes - I'm afraid to see what they have gotten up to while I'm not there to supervise. A room full of young-ins who thinks this is MI6, and the crime lab is Q branch," Danny ranted with a shake of his head as he moved toward the suspect who watched him suspiciously. "Please open wide," he asked as he held out a swab to Mr. Blanchard.

"Oh I don't think so," Blanchard stated with a shake of his head. "Not before I see my lawyer, and that will take several days as he has to get here from New York. You all may as well let me get back to work." he added with a sigh as he checked the gold watch that was still glimmering on his free wrist.

"Didn't you tell him this is a murder investigation and that we already have a warrant for a DNA sample?" Steve asked as he turned to Chin.

"I did," Chin stated, "he didn't believe me."

"Truly, you are here on a murder charge, which gives me every right to get that sample any way I want."

"Warrant," Danny stated as he turned the clipboard toward the suspect and then back again.

"No, not without my lawyer."

"I haven't got all day," Danny stated as he started to tap his foot impatiently.

"Sorry Doc," Steve stated and then grabbed the suspect by the hair and the jaw and forced his mouth open. "Is this better?" Steve asked as the suspect struggled against his restraints.

"Much," Danny stated with a smile and moved in. "You're an animal," he mouthed as he swabbed the man's mouth, so that only his partner could see him.

"Would you like a hair sample too?" Steve asked with a smile as he released the suspect with a violent shove and held out his hands to Danny.

"Well done," Danny said with a smile as he pulled a pair of tweezers out of his case and plucked the hairs out of Steve's hand's gently and placed them into a plastic evidence bag. "Perhaps this is like Q branch," he added mockingly as he turned back to the field kit. "I think I have everything I need - your fingerprints have already been taken - any other forensic evidence that is to be found, my guys will find it. Unless, I think I might like to take a closer look at that watch."

"What for?" Blanchard asked.

"Well because you seem rather attached to it, so it would be safe to assume that you wear it all the time."

"I hardly ever take it off, it's too valuable."

"So, in that case, it probably had trace evidence on it. I'll need to take it." Danny stated.

"Like hell you will," Blanchard yelled.

"Commander McGarrett, please restrain your suspect. He's withholding evidence." Danny said with a sigh.

Blanchard struggled only briefly as Steve grabbed the man by the wrist, wrapped his arm through his leg and tip the suspect right out of his chair and onto the ground. It was a tangle of two humans, a pair of hand cuffs and a chair that was bolted to the floor, but eventually Steve managed to slip the Gold Rolex off Blanchard's wrist and presented it to Danny with a smile.

"Thank you very much, Commander," Danny said with a nod and bagged the new evidence.

"I had better get that back!" Blanchard yelled.

"Oh, if you are proven innocent, you will, but if we prove that you did in fact kill those people, well you won't be needing it where you are going." Danny explained as he shut the kit again. "Well this has been entertaining, but I really must run. Good day gentlemen."

"Aw, leaving so soon?" Steve asked with a smile. "Don't you want to stay and see how we do things here in the dark recesses of the police precinct?"

"No, I've seen quite enough - thank you very much." Danny stated, picked up the field kit and headed for the door. "Good day gentlemen," he stated again and was let out.

"Now it's time for the fun to start," Steve stated once the door was closed again.

"I'm not afraid of you," Blanchard growled.

"You should be!" Chin stated and leaned against the back wall.


	12. Jail House Rock

**A/N Hello everyone, here is my meager offering to the fanfiction gods for today. Hope you like it. There is more to come as soon as I get up off my lazy ass and write.**

Chapter 12: Jail House Rock

_The warden threw a party at the county jail. The prison band was there and they began to wail. The band was jumpin' and the joint began to swing. You should've heard those knocked out jailbirds sing. Let's Rock..._ - Elvis Presley

"Here you go Charlie, thanks for the equipment," Danny stated as he walked out into the hall and handed the field kit back to Charlie Fong who had arrived only moment's early to help with Danny and Steve's charade.

"I almost believed you were a scientist," Charlie stated as he took back the lab coat and looked through the two way mirror as Steve paced in a tight circle around the suspect. "And you don't know how right you are - it is like Q Branch."

"One of these days I'll have to come by and see how you do thing," Danny stated jokingly.

"What is Steve going to do to that guy now?" Charlie asked skeptically. "I mean, he did a lot to get you these samples and that watch. What else could he possibly do?"

"He's going to get a confession out of him - using insane and inhumane methods - but he'll get his confession. He's highly efficient that what way," Danny said with an un-impressed sigh. "Stick around. It's going to be quite the show."

"I think I'll pass," Charlie stated, "I have to get these results to Kono as soon as possible."

"All right, have fun," Danny stated and turned all his attention to the mirror.

"Special delivery for Detective Williams," Kono said as she came down the hallway with their previous suspect.

"Awesome Kono," Danny smiled, "I'm waiting for my cue to head back in. Then I'll give you a signal when I'm ready for him. For now all you have to do is enjoy the show, although I'm pretty sure you just missed the best part - my acting debut. Not to blow my own horn, or anything, but I nailed it."

"He was very convincing," Charlie stated with a smile and a wave, and fled down the hallway.

"Doctor Daniel Williams sounds better then Detective, don't you think?" Danny asked with a smirk. "Mom would be very proud."

"You going back to school?" Kono laughed.

"Oh hell no!"

5-0

"Not that you care, or that you really need to know, but we have a witness that is prepared to testify against you in this murder case," Steve said calmly as he paced in a circle around his suspect. "We know you posed as your victim. We know you hired a homeless man to pose as your victim in your place. We know you stole a brown pick-up truck and you ditched it in the canal. You resurfaced later, down stream, and you were picked up in a red mustang and taken to the airport - where your driver got out, caught a plane, landed in New York for fashion week and was picked up by some of our associates in the NYPD and is being shipped back here to us on the next available flight. If you wore your watch into the canal, there will be trace evidence on it. We also found a strangely large amount of blood in that pick up truck's bed and, after our scientists went over it with a fine tooth comb, we even got hair and fingerprints, and guess what, those prints match you. If you wore that watch when you killed your victims and disposed of those bodies, there will likely be trace evidence of that on it as well. How much do you want to wager that the hair is also going to either match you or your two victims?"

"So you got me," Blanchard stated with a roll of his eyes, "do you also have a murder weapon, or perhaps a motive?"

"Motive, yes," Steve smiled, "and it's a really good one."

"Really good," Chin nodded.

"Well let's hear it then," Blanchard stated with a smile, "I'm sure it will be a good laugh, if nothing else."

"We believe that you are the head of an international group of smugglers. That your party business, though very profitable, is just a cover for your illegal business dealings and that you hand picked two people that are close to your organization, but who are fairly new to you, and you kill them to set the police on a wild goose chase until you're finished and your merchandise and people have moved on."

Blanchard's face went white - even in the dim light of the interrogation room.

"Ah ha, there it is!" Steve state and pointed at the man's face.

"I saw it too," Chin stated.

"So did I," Danny added as he walked in - minus his doctor's get up.

"Saw what?" Blanchard asked as his voice cracked.

"Your guilt."

"So, if that really were a true and valid story, why didn't you arrest all of my people at the Governor's mansion and put an end to the parties all together?" Blanchard asked.

"Not that you deserve any explanations - we're usually the ones asking the questions - but we would like to take down your whole organization, because we're over achievers that way." Danny stated as he opened the door and Kono led Christopher through the door.

"Yeah, that's the guy." Christopher stated. "He's the one that picked me up at the clinic and paid me to stay in that house and pretend I was Robert Aho."

"Did you notice anything odd about the truck he picked you up in?" Steve asked.

"It smelled very strongly like it had just been cleaned, like really cleaned." Christopher answered. "Epileptics have major sensitivities. Mine are stress and smell, and the occasional flashing lights - no clubbing for this guy. They can cause seizers." he added as he looked at the man who was handcuffed to the chair.

Blanchard averted his gaze and looked at the floor.

"Yeah, you chose the wrong guy," Steve stated and pet Blanchard on the shoulder before joining his team. "I don't suppose you want to tell us the name of the ship that will be carrying all your stolen merchandise out of the harbour, not that we really need it, but it would be nice."

"I want to speak to my lawyer," Blanchard stated.

"Okay, that can be arranged...for a day after Sunday when the parties are over, the heists are taken care of and your people arrested - then, with all your people ready to snitch on you and point the finger at you as the ring leader, we'll let you talk to your lawyer."

"You can't do that!" Blanchard stated and for the first time he seemed angry.

"We work for the Governor. We're his special task force. We have Immunity and Means, and because you are planning to ruin his party, I'm pretty sure he's going to let us do whatever we see fit and lawful." Steve explained with a smile plastered across his face that said more about his pleasure at having turned the tables on the man the sat before him then anything else.

"You seem rather pleased with yourself," Blanchard stated and there was venom in his voice. "You get off on this, don't you. It turns you on. Well, I wouldn't be too sure if I were you. My people will figure this out without me. You'll lose, Detective, and then I'll get off on that."

"I highly doubt that," Steve stated pleasantly, "and for your information, My name is Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett, and we are Five-O."

"He's not a detective, yet," Danny stated and motioned over his shoulder at Steve, "but I am, and with a little look into your business, and by little a mean deep into your business, we have found a few, shall we say, oddities. We know what your crew plans to do if the party does not go according to plan. We know that you sabotage the parties and run off with the money if, for some reason, you can't complete the heist. We have gone through everything that you made look legal and legitimate, and we have found the doctoring. So, in short, not only are we planning to charge you with the murders of the two victims here, and several others all over the pacific rim, we also have you for fraud and theft."

"That's impossible," Blanchard chuckled but there was worry in the tone and hesitation in his eyes. "How many heists could you possibly have linked me to?" he asked, almost sarcastically.

"Eight, not including the one you plan the pull here," Kono stated, speaking to the suspect for the very first time. "We've reached out to law enforcement colleagues all around the pacific rim and have more evidence pouring in by the moment. We have also contacted the IRS, the CIA, and Homeland Security, as well as Interpol. I'm sorry, but I don't think you are going to make it to New York for fashion week. Once we have the situation under control here, we will be reaching out to the other companies that you have bookings with, and yes we know there are a few more in the coming months, and we'll advise them that you are a fraud and that they should look into other organizations to run their events."

"You can't do this to me, I have put my life into this business. You are taking away my livelihood!" Blanchard yelled.

"You should have thought of that before you murdered two people," Steve stated and grabbed the man by the shirt. "What I really want to know, however, is why you went through so much trouble to prepare the body of Miss. Abigail Westerhaus before you tossed her in a shallow grave with a bodyguard?"

"To make things harder for you." Blanchard answered smugly.

"It made it easier. She was easily run through facial recognition and flagged. We knew who she was without her ID." Kono said in a matter of fact tone. "So either you are getting sloppy in your confidence that you would get away with this, or there is another reason."

"So I killed her, women deserver some respect. I wasn't about to just leave her at her worst, and she had been a good worker for me and my company. I owed her a little decency."

"In our business reasoning like that is a sign of a psychopath," Danny stated. "When profiling serial killers, such as yourself, we learn to see these kinds of patterns and you have been killing in the same way. If you wonder how we came to know you were the one responsible for all these heists, you need only look at the murders you thought you were leaving to send us off your scent."

"And in there lies your mistake," Steve said with a nod, "now if you would be so kind as to tell us the name of the ship involved with your heists, we could get this process moving and you could be in lock up before the end of the day."

"If you think you're so smart, I think I'll let you figure it out on your own." Blanchard stated and clamped his mouth shut.

"Fair is fair." Steve nodded and motioned to the door. "We have some planning to do." he added and the team left the interrogation where it had ended.


	13. She's A Lady

**A/N: Hey everyone, sorry it has taken me so long to get this stuff updates. I've been painting the basement - i know it sounds like so much fun right? Well it kinda is because I've been able to pick out most of the colours and I kinda love all of them. Needless to day, I haven't really been writing because of all the other stuff I've been doing but i hope to have a few updates this week as most of the painting that i have been doing is done for now.**

**So here you go, just another little Kono centered chapter! Hope you like it! Enjoy!**

Chapter 13: She's A Lady

_Well she's all you'd ever want, she's the kind you'd like the flaunt and take to diner. Well she always knows her place. She's got style, she's got grace, she's a winner. She's a lady..._ - Tom Jones

"So what now?" Chin asked once the Five-O crew was back in the bullpen.

"Now, _we_ plan our under cover," Kono said as she motioned to Danny, "while you two go back to the Governor and give him the down-low on everything we have found out so far. Come on Danny, we have some shopping to do."

"Save me..." Danny sighed.

"It's going to be good practice for when Grace gets to a certain age and all she wants to do is spend your money." Kono said with a shake of her head as Steve and Chin laughed.

"She already does this. It's bad enough I have to deal with it at home, now I have to go girl shopping for work?"

"Take one for the team, Danno, she's your rookie!" Steve teased.

"You suck!"

"Where's the company credit card?" Kono asked as she held out her hand to Steve.

"Oh, that's right, this is business as usual, hand over the money McGarrett," Danny stated sarcastically, "it will be good practice for when you and Catherine start making babies and you have to pay for everything!" he added jokingly.

"Shut up!"

"Steve and Catherine, sitting in a tree…" Danny taunted.

"The money," Kono stated impatiently as she held out her hand and tapped her foot.

"The Governor is not going to like this," Steve said skeptically.

"This is for the Governor!" Kono protested.

"All right," Steve stated and fished the credit card out of his office, "but be reasonable Kono."

"Reasonable, as in, I need to wear something completely, ridiculously, expensive to lure in our heist crew - like expensive heals that we can hide a tracking device in, and say gold cufflinks for Danny that are very James Bond? Or would you like us to go shopping for wedding bands?" she asked as she wrapped her arms around Danny.

"We already have those things covered," Steve said, "the necklace and the watch that you and Danny will be wearing - including your wedding bands - are already being fabricated, but if you want to get some shoes that may be alluring, we'll hide a tracker in those as well."

Kono pecked Danny on the cheek, "how do you feel about being married to me?"

"Judging by the look I'm getting from your cousin, right now, I'd say it would be an absolute pleasure because you're the love of my life and I won't let anything happen to her – I promise, Chin. Please don't hurt me."

Kono laughed out loud.

"Alright, go buy whatever you need and stop with the mushy, love, stuff. It just seems all wrong because it's you and Danny," Steve stated and pushed the credit card into Kono's hands - while at the same time separating the two of them.

"Wow, Rookie, you just got permission to go shoe shopping!" Danny teased.

"All part of the plan!" Kono winked.

"Okay you two, get moving." Steve ordered.

Danny and Kono mock saluted their superior and rushed out of the office.

"Do you have a feeling there is something they aren't telling us?" Steve asked Chin once Kono and Danny were gone.

"You're suspicious?" Chin asked with a laugh. "Maybe you are learning a thing or two from Danny."

"I've got my own instincts. This has nothing to do with Daniel!" Steve retorted.

"Okay, whatever you say," Chin said and dropped the subject. "So what are we telling the Governor?" he asked.

"We're going to tell him everything, and that he has to have this party no matter what. His one job, aside for running the state, is to make sure that those people don't sabotage his parties and force a cancelation."

"Sounds like a plan to me," Chin said.

"I bet Danny took the Camaro," Steve sighed as he and Chin turned toward the door with their arms full of files and their tablets.

"No, my moneys on, Kono's driving today," Chin stated with a smile.

5-0

"He is no wiser," Danny said as he sat in the passenger seat in Kono's red Chevy Cruze.

"I can't believe he fell for that," Kono stated with a laugh as she pulled the car to a stop at the gun range.

"Unless he checks your computer to see that you've already done all your shopping online and that we only have to pick up and pay for your _costume_, then we're in the clear until you tell him you've already started with your testing." Danny said as he got out of the car. "You want me to wait here, or shall I come along to watch and provide moral support."

"Do I have to tell him?" Kono asked nervously.

"Yes, he's your boss," Danny said with a nod.

"Okay, I guess it's cool if you come along, as long as you promise not to make me any more nervous then I already am."

"Why are you nervous, next to Rambo, you're our gun girl. I'm pretty sure you're better with big guns and little guns and absolutely ridiculous guns then I am. You happen to be Steve's favourite sniper - unless he's the one picking off a target - then again, if he has the choice between being the sniper and being the guy to go guns blazing into a possibly bad situation, he's going guns hot and you get to sit on a roof top and wait for the perfect shot – which you always seem to nail – so really this should be a walk in the park, or roof ridge pole, if you prefer."

"You're not helping, Danny," Kono stated.

"Sorry," Danny said and threw up his hands, "you're gonna do great. You like guns, right, you are good with them. This should be as easy as pipeline for you."

"Bad analogy," Kono said with a sigh, "pipeline took me out of the game."

"Maybe I should just stay here," Danny said and pointed at the car, "or maybe I should go do the running around, pick up the stuff we need, and then come back. I just need the car keys and I'll get out of your hair."

"No, you are coming with me!" Kono stated as she grabbed Danny by the arm and dragged him along with her. "You are going to stand there, and you aren't going to say anything, but you're going to be there. Can you do that?"

"Kono, you've got this in the bag. You're going to do great, better then great, you'll do super-awesome."

"All right, let's do this," Kono stated, straightened herself and walked through the gun range to where the examiner waited.

5-0

"You're damn right I'm not going to stand for them cancelling my parties. Not knowing this!" Governor Sam Denning yelled as he began to pace the length of his office. "We'd been using the same company for so long, but I decided it was time for a change after the whole Jameson debacle, not that the other company was bad, I just figured that this would show my authority, and now you tell me this?"

"We're sorry sir," Steve stated as he shared an awkward glance with Chin, "but, for the sake of our investigation, we need you to force this party to happen. Under no circumstance are you to let these people walk away at the eleventh hour. I suggest if I may be so bold, that you call in your lawyers - discreetly - and we'll cooperate with them fully so that, if things does go to pot, and say they just decided that without their leader that they will walk away and disappear, then at least you'll be able to hold the company accountable. I'm sure your lawyers will be able to find the loophole in the contract that you signed with these people."

"I'm sure murder, international theft, and fraud will be enough for my lawyers to get me out of this contract and save the money that we've put into this," Denning stated with a wave of his hand, "but you had better catch these people McGarrett. I don't want to see this company getting away with anymore of their shenanigans. This is it, you are my elite task force. Do whatever you need to do. I give you your immunity and means - whatever means - to stop this. You have better hope that these people take the bait."

"We're making it so that it is going to be very hard for them to resist," Steve smiled.

"At least Danny will get to drive a sports car for one night, because Lord knows you don't let him drive the one he actually owns," Chin mocked.

"If anything happens to that car, you will be held responsible." Denning stated.

"We've got it wired up and completely traceable. If you'd like us to have our technicians prepare your Jag as well, it can be arranged."

"My plan was never to take my Jag to the party, maybe the beach party, but not the ball."

"We think the beach party is their big target, so we had better wire up your car so that it's returned safely." Chin said and pulled his cell from his pocket.

"And you're sure that is accurate?" Denning asked as he handed the files back to McGarrett, as Steve and Chin stood to leave.

"We have witnesses, we have forensic evidence and we have another suspect on her way back to the island as we speak. This is a huge operation, and we're going to take it down." Steve said confidently.

"All right, then I will make sure the parties happen." Denning said and reached to shake Steve's hand. "Is there anything else I should know?"

"If you see Danny and Kono at the party, you need to remember they are undercover, and so you will have to address them as Mr. and Mrs. Browning – Newly weds, big money from the mainland, Danny's going to be playing a big Texas oil tycoon."

Denning raised an eyebrow in amusement.

"Don't worry Danny refuses to wear the hat," Chin laughed.

"I should hope so," Sam stated.

"But Kono will be swimming in diamonds, so she'll be very appealing to the heist crew. Everything else is planned and under control. Let the heist happen and everything will be returned when the arrests are made." Steve explained.

Denning nodded.

Steve and Chin, in turn, shook the Governor's hand and left the office - finding their way out the back of the building to avoid being seen.


	14. Hit Me With Your Best Shot

**A/N: All right everyone, this is the last of the backlogged chapters that I have written for this story so now I have to get off my lazy tush - not that I've actually be that lazy, I've just been doing manual labour over writing - and I gotta get back to business with this story. I have it planned out to the end. There are going to be about five more chapters after this one, but I just have to form them all into proper ideas now. I'll get right on that. **

**Until then I hope you've enjoyed yourself thus far!**

**Chapter 14: Hit Me With Your Best Shot**

_Well you're a real tough cookie with a long history of breaking little hearts, like the one in me. That's O.K., let's see how you do it, put up your dukes, let's get right to it! Hit me with your best shot. Why don't you hit me with your best shot? Hit me with your best shot. Fire away - _Pat Benatar

"Where have you two been?" Steve asked as he came out of his office - as Kono and Danny finally returned to the Five-O bullpen.

"Read 'em and weep, boss man," Kono stated proudly as she placed three paper targets down on the smart table, as Chin joined them and Danny carried all the shopping bags – like a good little husband.

"These look fantastic, Kono, but what happened to shopping?" Steve asked as the company credit card was return to his hands.

"I did it all online. All we had to do was pick it up and pay for it," Kono stated and Danny placed the bags down, "but look at this," Kono added as she unfolded another piece of paper. "I qualified in the top percentile for the weapons portion of my Detectives Exam."

"Look at you, Cuz," Chin stated proudly and wrapped his arms around his baby cousin, "I knew you had it in you."

"Whoa, wait, you've already booked your tests?" Steve asked.

Danny nodded proudly.

"Sure did, I'm doing the physical on Sunday and the written next Tuesday."

"After everything she did to pull this case together, I thought she was ready, and she agreed," Danny explained.

"That's not fair," Steve stated angrily.

"It is completely fair, as per our agreement, as long as you do the tests, at your own pace, and Kono continues to kick your ass, I'll win our bet." Danny explained. "And, can I just say, I think you were onto something when you assigned Kono to sniper duties. Did you see her test scores - this girl should be in Special Forces."

"Yeah, you kinda should," Steve said as Kono handed him her scores and he looked through her ranking. "The proof is right here."

"I'll settle for Detective Kono Kalakaua, I'm content with law enforcement."

"That's my cousin," Chin stated proudly once more.

"Now check out these shoes!" Kono stated excitedly as she started to rummage through her shopping bags.

"And just like that, she turned into a girl again," Danny sighed.

"Watch it Daniel, I'm your pretend wife and you _will_ be nice to me."

"Yes dear."

"All right, that's enough of that," Steve stated, "as much as I like to see you whipped by a woman, I think we should call it a day. Tomorrow morning our suspect should be returned to us from New York. How do we want to handle that, Detective Kalakaua?"

"I want to do that interrogation," Kono stated with a smile.

"Sounds like a plan. I guess I'm in with you on that?" Danny asked.

"No, I want you with Chin, and I want Steve in the interrogation - for intimidation purposes."

"It's because I'm short, isn't it," Danny asked sarcastically.

"No, it's because I need you and Chin to bug Charlie for whatever he can give us from his analysis. He's already given me a lot to go on, and he's sending me direct messages almost constantly, but still, if things work out the way the seem to be going, I'm going to need someone with Charlie and his people tomorrow."

"Looks like we have a lab day," Chin said with a smirk.

"I promised Charlie I'd come and check things out in the lab - for real this time." Danny laughed and shrugged.

"And I have to behave myself in the interrogation room with Kono..." Steve sighed and shook his head.

"Ha, who's whipped now?" Danny laughed.

"You still are," Kono stated seriously.

Steve and Chin laughed out loud.

5-0

Holly sat quietly in the brightly lit interrogation room at the HPD precinct, where she had been brought directly off the flight she had arrived on, and it was there that Kono and Steve met up to do their interrogation.

"Morning," Steve smiled as he met Kono outside the room. "You'll be happy to know I booked all my tests - weapons this afternoon, physical Sunday and written Tuesday. We'll be all finished together."

Kono smiled.

"What?"

"Danny really got to you."

"No he didn't."

"Yes, he did! This has nothing to do with me, but this has everything to do with the fact that you just can't handle Danny calling you a rookie." Kono teased. "Have you even started studying?"

"I'm no rookie," Steve stated, "but Danny was right in that I should have been more familiar with this world of civilian Law Enforcement. I picked up the books last night and fell asleep about three minutes into them."

Kono nodded but something like skepticism glistened in her eyes.

"I'm serious," Steve stated.

Kono laughed, "I know you, and for your benefit, I'm willing to go behind Danny's back and we can do some studying together. I know you don't need me on the physical portion of the exam or the weapons – for that matter - but we could both benefit from a little refresher in protocols and procedures.

"It's such a big book," Steve sighed.

"But Danny has flash cards," Kono stated, "and I have them in my car. So the sooner we get what we want out of Holly, the sooner we can disappear and study before your weapons test."

"Thank you Kono," Steve said and flashed a genuine smile at her.

"Yeah, yeah, don't go all soft on me now. I need you to scare the crap out of this woman."

Steve simply smiled.

5-0

"Well Charlie, what did you find?" Danny asked as he and Chin walked into the crime lab to find Charlie hovering around his work station.

"Mr. Blanchard was in the canal," Charlie stated, "and so was his gold Rolex."

"All right, we already knew that, get anything else?" Chin asked.

"There was blood in his watch as well - tiny, tiny amounts - but it was there," Charlie explained, "and we were lucky because it was just enough to get a profile and a match. Guess whose blood it was."

"Robert Aho?" Danny asked.

"Nope." Charlie smiled. "It was Abigail Westerhaus's. But that's not all, when the crime lab did a sweep of Robert Aho's house we found fibers, hair and biological material that didn't belong to Aho or Ember. It was female."

"Abigail was at Robert's house?" Danny asked.

"No, but your other suspect, Holly Bails, was involved in a sexual relationship with Robert Aho - we found evidence – and the evidence never lies."

"So she's more of an accomplice then we thought?" Chin stated as he turned to Danny.

"It was enough to get you guys these," Charlie stated and waved two pieces of paper before Danny and Chin.

"What are they?" Danny asked.

"Search warrants for Holly Bails apartment and the house Richard Blanchard is currently renting here on the island." Charlie explained and handed the pages to Danny before he began removing his lab coat and swapping it out for his HPD issued crime lab coat. "I have two teams ready to go at your command." he added and grabbed a field kit off his desk. "As per Kono's orders, I debriefed her earlier this morning."

"Looks like we have a new partner today," Danny said with a smile and lead the way out of the lab.

"Outta the lab and into the real world, Charlie," Chin stated with a laugh and followed Danny.

5-0

"Holly Bails, I'm Officer Kalakaua, this is Commander McGarrett, and we're with the governor's special task force." Kono stated as she and Steve walked in and sat down at the table across form their suspect. "I'm sure you know why you are here?"

"All I know is that I was pulled out of my seat, at a runway show, and taken into custody by the NYPD and the U.S Marshals, and shipped back here." Holly stated angrily.

"We have you on surveillance, aiding and abetting a fugitive. We know that you've worked for quite some time for Mr. Richard Blanchard, and we believe you are guilty of murder."

"What?" Holly shrieked.

"Cut the crap, I can tell you're faking," Steve stated as he stared down the woman.

Holly calmed down instantly.

"You better have more then just surveillance if you think you're going to hold me," Holly stated and this time there was defiance in her tone.

"As we speak, HPD crime lab is ransacking your apartment. We found traces of your blood, and other biological matter in the house of Robert Aho. Would you kindly show me your hands please?" Kono asked.

"Not until my lawyer is present."

Kono and Steve shared a wordless glance and then Kono rose from her place at the table, walked around it, constantly followed by Holly's eyes, and grabbed the suspect by the wrist before handcuffing her to the table leg.

"She's got defensive wounds." Kono stated as she came back around the table and sat down beside Steve. "They would be consistent with a murder that took place several days ago. So how did you do it? How did you take down a two hundred and forty pound security officer, or did you distract him while Blanchard shot him?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Holly stated with a roll of her eyes.

"What about the other ones?" Kono asked and flipped through her file. "The ones in California, and Panama, the Philippines, Canada, Japan, need I go on Miss. Bails? According to your company profile you are fluent in several languages - makes you a good person to have around to get to know the locals. Company records show that you were stationed in all of these places at the exact same time that murders, matching the ones here in Hawaii, happened. Richard Blanchard was with you there. Is he just your boss, or is he your partner in these heinous crimes you two are committing. Come on. Tell us the name of the ship that will be taking the cargo away from Hawaii when your heists are pulled on Friday night."

Holly's eyes grew wider and wider as Kono spoke.

"And you wanted me here to scare her," Steve said with a laugh.

"I'm not saying another word until my lawyer is here. I get a phone call don't I?"

"No, we will be holding you for the next seventy two hours, so that we can take down the heist crew and the ship before you can call and warn anyone. As far as they are concerned, you are in New York City for Fashion week and Mia and Kayley are going to wrap up the parties here in Hawaii. Once that business is all over, and we have everything we need to have you and your partner charged with multiple international murders, theft and smuggling, as well as the fraud that is going on within the company, and once we've flipped most of your accomplices to testify against you, then we will let you call your lawyers to get them here to try and get you off, but we have enough to put you away forever. As it stands, we just want to end the smuggling ring you're running as well. We're overachievers."

"You can't do that, I have rights!"

"Did you miss the part about us being the Governor's special task force? As far as the Governor of Hawaii is concerned, you've got no say, in fact, he would rather see you locked up at Guantanamo before you get a chance to ruin his parties or call your lawyer, and with full immunity and means I can have that arranged. Would you like to take a trip to a different island and see how you fair with international criminals and murderer?" Steve asked. "I could tell you a thing or two about the men that I sent there during my career with the United States Navy. And let me tell you, some of those guys would die to see a pretty young murderer out there with them."

"You wouldn't dare," Holly gasped as tears began to roll down her cheeks.

"Sorry, sweet heart, I would," Steve said nonchalantly.

"If I tell you everything will you keep me on American soil?" Holly asked tearfully.

"I want ship names, I want confessions and I want to know where the murder weapons are," Kono stated harshly and without sympathy.

"The murder weapons are in my apartment. There is a loose floor board in the bedroom under the window - I just stash the weapons and the ones from all the other murders can be found in all of the different buildings I've lived in. I've never killed anyone, but I did distract the men for Mr. Blanchard. I'm only an accomplice. I was able to get romantically involved with most of the men, and some of the women, and then move on, but this time Robert Aho got violent with me. I tried to clean up as best as I could, but I guess it wasn't good enough. I never pulled the triggers - never - but I was there to see all of the victims die," she confessed.

"That still makes you a murderer," Kono stated harshly.

"It does indeed," Steve said with a nod.

"I never pulled the trigger," Holly stated more forcefully.

"But you were there, and you did nothing to stop it. You knew it was going to happen, you participating willingly in all of these crimes. You are guilty of murder!" Kono yelled.

Holly fell silent.

"And what about the boat?" Steve asked.

"We use two, one is called _The Del Mer_ and the other is _The Stille_. We use two, at two different locations, separated by as much space as we can manage so that if one ship is taken, the other may still reach its final destination, and both ships will sail within days of each other but to cover our tracks they never leave at the same time."

"And where do you ship all the good?" Steve asked.

"Rio, the cargo gets off the ship there. It is moved into the slums by the cartels and then moves out once it has been made untraceable. No law enforcement dares to go into the slums because of the violence and the cartels strong hold so it is the perfect place to turn our profits. Most of the merchandise is used to fund drug smuggling and we get paid by the cartel."

"How many people are involved with the heists?"

"A lot, I don't know there names, I was never the person in charge of finding the workers. I am just Blanchard's assistant, so I am always sent away to the next location before the heists happen, but some of the thieves are part of the company, some of them are locals from wherever we are, and some come to us from the cartels. They are paid in cash just before the heist happens and then the ones that move on with the company move on with us and the ones that are local disappear back into their local communities, and lastly, the cartel members travel with the cargo back to Rio and are the connection within the slums."

"Who is the person in charge of the heists?" Kono asked.

"Kayley Browne," Holly answered. "If anything goes wrong, we contact her and she will take over or she will shut down."

Kono and Steve exchanged a worried glance.

"If she knows that something is up - if she hasn't heard from Richard or myself - she'll go to plan B."

"Shutting down the whole operation, and taking the money as per the cancelation clause in the contract?" Steve asked.

"Yes, and no, most of the time the cancelation clause is in place to actually cancel so that we can make money off the party no matter what, it's totally legit, but in the event that the heist is in jeopardy, it can also be used as plan B. If what you say is true, and Richard and I are both in custody, plan B has probably already been activated."

"Governor Denning is forcing the parties to happen. He will not let them be canceled. His lawyers have already been briefed on the situation and the fraud of your company. They will move in and legally force your people to go through with the party if the cancelation seems inevitable, and at that point Kayley will be arrested. Is Mia involved as well?" Steve asked.

"Yes," Holly answered. "She was one of the first people we picked up for the company when we came here and established ourselves in Hawaii. She's a local, and works as a liaison with the gangs here that have loaned us their man power."

"We'll have to arrest her too," Kono sighed as she jotted something down in her files.

"So why not do it then?" Holly asked. "I gave you names, ships, everything you wanted, so why don't you just end this before the heist happens?"

"Because we want to take out as many felons as we can, and if that means cartel members, gang members and what you want to call your people, then so be it. We're very thorough that way." Kono explained. "Plus, if we can catch them red handed, the court case will be much more solid, and will give us the evidence we need to lock them up for longer."

"You know we've like the party locations because of the lack of surveillance, right?" Holly asked.

"We've been bugging, wiring and setting up surveillance on all the locations for days now. Trust me. We have all the surveillance we need." Kono explained as she pulled still photos from the file and showed them to Holly. The photos were of the other two girls in question and were taken from the Hydrangea cam.

"Even inside the office, you people are good," Holly said as she pushed the photos back to Kono.

"Full Immunity and Means," Steve stated. "That's the Five-O guarantee."

"Then it sounds like you've got us," Holly said and lowered her eyes. "Can I stay in the United Stated?"

"Will you testify against Blanchard?" Kono asked.

"I will," Holly stated, "and anyone else you catch."

"Then we will do everything we can to have you serve your sentence here on American soil."


	15. Schools Out

**A/N: Hey everyone, glad so many of you liked the last chapter! And a big Thank You to Qweb for filling me in on the site glitches that day. I would have never known and you may not have gotten the update if it weren't for her! **

**Anyway, this chapter is a little bit of filler to kinda fill in a little gap. Just as a little note, the bet is between Danny and Steve, and really Kono has nothing to do with it in that sense, it was made out of her presence, so if she wants to help Steve study that is completely up to her. She could also sabotage him if she likes – who am I kidding, Steve's going to do that himself!**

**Any how, hope you enjoy chapter 15 and chapter 16 is coming your way very soon!**

Chapter 15: Schools Out

_ Well we got no choice, all the girls and boys. Makin all that noise, 'cause they found new toys. Well we can't salute ya. Can't find a flag. If that don't suit ya, that's a drag. School's out for summer. School's out forever. School's been blown to pieces... _- Alice Cooper

Steve and Kono sat at the picnic tables by Kamekona's shrimp truck after their interrogation had finished and Danny and Chin had checked in again. It wasn't quite noon, but it was late enough into the morning that Lunch sounded like the next best step before Steve would head out to do his weapons test and Kono would go back to HQ to wait for Chin and Danny to come back with whatever they found at the new locations.

After having placed their orders, Kono unpacked a back-pack full of supplies and settled in to get some studying done. Steve sighed at the massive amount of stuff that Kono had brought out, but as she passed him paper and pens, and a text book, he knew it was all to help him with his own studying, which he hadn't started at all.

"These are so thorough," Steve stated as he flipped over another one of Danny's flash cards, while Kono sat before him cradling a book in her hands. "When did he find time to make these?"

"I'm assuming he knew he was going to do the examinations way before he actually signed up for them, and so he had more time then we do to study," Kono said with a laugh.

"Yeah, explain to me why we're doing this again?"

"You're doing it because Danny peer-pressured you into it," Kono stated as she made notes for herself. "I've been thinking about this since I knew that I was eligible to take the exam."

"Danny didn't peer-pressure me," Steve snapped. "We have a wager."

"Oh come on Steve, you have to know that Danny manipulated you into this." Kono stated as she released the book and it landed with a thud on the table.

Steve stared at her.

"This whole bet thing, it's all a cover for you and I to get this out of the way so that we can all be on the same page. It's not like you need this, but I think Danny thinks that you might understand more, or gain more respect from everyone if people know that you've stepped up to it. I mean you're intimidating now because of all your naval training. Imagine the edge you'll have when all the cops and detectives who are your critics and naysayers within law enforcement channels - imagine the shock and the awe they will have when you've eliminated their biggest bargaining chip. You know what they say about you - he's not a cop, he's a soldier - you'll be both - officially."

"You think that's what's going through Danny's head?"

"It's in yours now, isn't it?"

"Well yeah, and I see your reasoning."

"Danny is your friend above and beyond all things. He doesn't see the distinction anymore - he just sees you - but he hears things just as we do, and when people talk smack about his friends, Danny takes it personally. There have been more than a few times that I've heard Danny curse under his breath at your critics and say things like 'McGarrett will show them'. It's not that Danny sees you as a Rookie, but everyone else does and that drives Danny crazy. He manipulated you by being the voice of everyone else - everyone who says you never earned that badge you were gives or the authority you have because it was just dropped in your lap. Danny knows you deserve it, and Danny wants you to prove it to everyone - that it's not just because of your father and to keep you under someones thumb – no, you are the best person for this job and no one should be questioning that."

"That manipulative little shit!" Steve stated but the look in his eyes said more about the understanding and the hurt that Kono had spelled out for him.

"Honestly, the thought never crossed your mind?" Kono asked in shock.

"No!" Steve answered, "but then again I don't even hear the criticism anymore because I know who I am and what I am. I've been trained to tune it out - to not hear the criticisms or the taunting. I had no idea that it would bother Danny so much. Why does it bother him if it doesn't bother me?"

"Because Danny is the poster boy of justice - justice for all - no matter what. He would make an amazing soldier and a terrible one at the same time because Danny wouldn't be able to carry out orders that he disagreed with but at the same time he'd laid down his life for anyone, at any time. It bothers Danny because you aren't doing anything to stop your critics and therefore you are condoning the things that they say about you. It's like you don't think you deserve that badge either so why would you stand up for it. You're like the bullied kid on the playground that just won't confront your bully and Danny is your one true friends telling you that you have every right, and every ability, and every opportunity to stop this but you won't, and you never back down from a fight so why aren't you fighting this one? This has nothing to do with you, or me, or test scores and titles, but everything to do with justice, respect and your right to wear that badge the way we know you should. The bet is all a cover for what Danny really wants, and what he wants is for you to stand up for yourself, Five-O and the job that we do that some people think shouldn't be handled by an elite task force."

"I have been passive," Steve said with a slight nod, "and it's not fair to the team."

"Yeah, and you're not a passive guy - sometimes Danny wishes you were or that you would just turn it down a few decibels - but in this you seem content to take a lashing. Danny is the one who is always with you, he hears the things that people say behind your back, but he can't let them roll off as you do. I know you worry about the viability and the security of Five-O because you really have built up this team, so why don't you stand up for it when people blatantly tell us that we shouldn't exist? Sure we have some friends in HPD, but _we_ know first hand that Internal Affairs have it out for us. As much as the people see the good that we do, and the horrible cases that we take on, there are still people that see us as a government funded pack of misfits."

"You're right Kono, and I never thought of it like that, but you are right. I'm going to do this now so Danny won't have to worry anymore. It shouldn't fall to him all the time to stand up for Five-O. It should be me and I should have done this a long time ago to prove that I'm just as much a cop as the rest of them, and that what Five-O does is important, but I'm not sure I'm going to do as well as you on this test. Maybe in that sense I am a Rookie. This is a lot to remember." Steve said as he flipped through a few more of the cards and then switched to the text book but the determination was there.

"It's nothing we don't already know, besides, this is only a third of what we need to do.

"But it's worth half the overall evaluation." Steve sighed.

"All right my little scholars," Kamekona stated as he came to the table, "here is some grub to help you expand your minds. Fish. It's brain food. What are you studying for anyway?" the big guy asked as Steve pushed away all the books and accepted the food - turning all his attention to the food rather than the material, and Kono rolled her eyes.

"Protocols and procedures for the detective's exam," Kono answered and made room so that she could continue studying and enjoy her meal.

"Don't you already know this?" Kamekona asked.

"Well Danny would beg to differ," Steve said with his mouth full, "but honestly yes - most of it."

"It's the little things that are going to screw us up."

"Then why don't you have the two detectives on your team helping you study?" Kamekona asked with a chuckle.

"Because Danny has bet Steve that I'll do better than he will on the test, and so me helping Steve study is kinda cheating," Kono explained.

"It's not cheating if it's for the greater good," Kamekona stated, "but if you want, I'll put my guys on the look out to make sure you two don't get caught. I got your back in this operation."

"Thanks, but we're not expecting them to show up. They've headed out to two other locations for our investigation and as soon as we're done here - and Steve has to head off to do the weapons portion of his test - I'll be heading back to the office to get some work done." Kono explained.

"Well then I better let you get back to your books," Kamekona stated with a smile. "If you need anything else, you just holler."

5-0

Danny and Chin walked back into the office much later than they had anticipated. Both locations, now that they had warrants, had proven to back up most of Holly's story, and the evidence they had been able to gather from both, showed signed of the premedication of the current case.

"What the hell is this?" Danny asked as he moved toward his office and found his door plastered with three paper targets.

"McGarrett's weapons test," Kono stated from her place at the smart table.

"Did he score better then you - or worse?" Danny asked as he spun around.

"He won't say," Kono said with a shrug, "he's been on the phone for the past hour with the coast guard, and even though I tried to compare the targets, you really need the evaluation papers to know how he did and he's not showing those off."

"Of course he's not," Danny stated with a sigh and shot a glare at his partner.

Steve smiled and waved, but remained safely ensconced in his office.

"Find anything good," Kono asked trying to bring the subject back around to the case.

"The weapon was exactly where Holly said it would be, and we found all of your female victim's belongings and identification with the gun," Chin said and shuffled some photos he'd taken around on the smart table.

"At Blanchard's we were able to find a safe, and in that safe we found detailed directions and manifests, as well as a lot of the same paperwork we're used to seeing, but there are slight changes in certain files. I guess it all depends on what Blanchard's ultimate plan is and that would dictate which contract he presents to be signed - all with loopholes, logistic and fraud expertly woven into the fine print." Danny added.

"It's everything we need." Kono smiled. "Now all we have to do is party like we've never partied before!" she added excitedly and Danny danced with her around the smart table.

"Okay, that's enough of that," Steve stated as he came out of his office and put an end to merriment.

"Show me your test scores," Danny ordered as he stopped.

"No, I think I will keep those secret until _all_ of my test scores have come in - I urge you to do the same Kono."

Danny shook his head. "It doesn't matter, Kono's going to win."

"Probably, she's had more time to study," Steve said with a glance in Kono's direction.

"I offered to help you study, but you decided it would be best to stake your reputation on a wager, rather than sucking it up and letting me help you hit the books." Danny said.

"When do I have time to study? My job is way too important for that," Steve retorted.

"Bossy McBosserson over here thinks he's the only one doing the job," Danny stated more to Kono then to anyone else.

"Would you two just stop, so we can get ourselves organized?" Chin asked with a sigh.

"Everything is set for tomorrow," Steve stated.

"And our crime scenes are already being investigated," Danny added.

"So it would seem that you have time to study, and you have time to rest before you big acting debut." Chin stated and pointed from Steve to Danny.

"I see what you did there, Cuz." Kono laughed.

"There is a reason no one bets against me," Chin stated confidently.

"Chin wins," Steve said as he looked with confusion on his partner.

"It's true. It's time to hit the books and make it an early night."

"Sounds like a plan." Kono stated and hoisted her backpack over one shoulder.

"Anyone for dinner?" Steve asked as he avoided Kono's eyes.

"You need to get to work," Danny stated as he linked arms with Kono, "and I have my own tutoring to get done."

"Come on, I'll help you study Steve," Chin stated and shut down the smart system for the night. "And we'll get something to eat on the way."


	16. Girl On Fire

**A/N: All right everyone. Just a small update this week because I am trying very hard to finish this story. So I'm not working on anything else until this is finished, and it will be soon if I can get myself motivated. I promise the party is in the very next chapter. For now, you'll have to settle with the Hotness that is Danny and Kono - married/spy/couple.**

**Enjoy**

Chapter 16: Girl On Fire

_Looks like a girl, but she's a flame. So bright, she can burn your eyes, better look the other way. You can try but you'll never forget her name. She's on top of the world, hottest of the hottest girls say, oh, we got our feet on the ground, and we're burning it down. Oh, got our head in the clouds, and we're not coming down. This girl is on fire..._ - Alicia Keys

On the afternoon of the first party, Steve and Chin gathered in the bullpen with representatives from all of the organizations that would be involved in the take down. For blocks around the beach location, at Waikiki, police officers and coast guard personal were setting up blockades, which wasn't unusual for an event as big as this one, but the shear number of on duty undercover cops was daunting even for a Five-O investigation.

Likewise, naval personal including coast guard and homeland security had located the two ships that were, indeed, at two different locations across the island. Surveillance was being set up on them as well, but everyone would have to wait for McGarrett's final say.

And lastly, undercover agents, much like Kono and Danny, were preparing themselves for the run in at the party. Making up much of the guest list, as V.I.P invites by the governor himself, the agents were woven into the story and made to watch out for the key players and Danny and Kono - who would be running the ground crew at the party once the heist had happened and the suspects moved on to other locations. All jewellery, cars, and other luxury items that were to be used by the under-covers, were tagged or faked, and would be recovered by HPD.

Truth be told, McGarrett had the whole heist planned out in his head, and because of his strategic training, the entire area had been stealthily wired, bugged, printed, mapped and canvased so that everything would run smoothly on Five-Os end - as long as all of their information was correct. He'd even gone so far as mapping out a primary escape route - path of least resistance to both port locations, and then the secondary route was mapped out as well which detailed a much more convoluted pathway through the city to the port locations. The one factor that Steve and his crew were still very much in the dark on, was the vehicles that would transport the goods from point A to point B, and because of this factor, surveillance at the parties would include Steve and Chin on site, in a very minimal capacity just to watch for suspicious vehicles.

Steve had given Danny and Kono the go ahead to lay low for most of the day. Their big task was to be on the inside, identify the main players, as they knew who they were, and to make sure that when the heist was happening that no one would get hurt. Their job was to go to the party, look good, plant all of their marked goods and make sure that panic didn't reach fever pitch when the heist had been pulled off. Everything else, after that point, was up to Steve and Chin and the army that Steve had wrangled together.

Throughout the course of the morning, as Steve prepared all of his additional men, Chin remained in contact with the international investigations that had been reopened because of Holly's information. Because of her information murder weapons had been located in three of the seven other investigations and another location, a headquarters of the business, or a cover for the business, was located Rio and, because it wasn't associated directly with the slums and the drug cartel, it was raided by police and the business was put under investigations - no incoming calls in or out of the business were prohibited.

Everything seemed to be running according to plan, but Steve knew that no amount of preparation was going to be enough to justify the danger that could ensue if panic were to break out. Keeping the patrons of the party in the dark probably wasn't the best scenario, but because of the grandeur of the investigation and the possibility of taking it down completely in one evening, Steve had to keep reminding himself that the benefits far outweighed the risks.

Danny arrived, late in the afternoon, dressed for his undercover assignment and walking a little taller then he usually would.

"The tycoon is in the house," Steve teased as he looked up from the smart table.

"I feel a little over dressed for a beach party," Danny stated with a shrug.

"Technically it's not a beach party. The venue backs onto the beach and party goers can retreat to the beach area, but you are going to be corralled mostly in the ballroom and patio area. It's all blocked off by fences and strategically located flower beds. You wont have to go anywhere near the sand in your Italian leather loafers if you don't want to." Steve explained.

Danny was dressed in a very expensive Armani suit with Gucci shoes, and tie worth more then all of the ties in his closet. It was the nicest, best cut suit and most comfortable shoes Danny had ever worn, even more so then what he had worn to his own wedding, but it really wasn't to Danny's liking, and he fidgeted with the cuffs of his shirt as he waited around feeling useless.

"Would you please put me to work, at least for a little while, so that I don't feel like a circus act," Danny asked as he paced before the smart table.

"What would you like to do?" Steve asked with a smirk, "Wanna go for a spin in _your_ car for the evening, just to make it look like you've driven it all your life?"

"Aren't I driving my Camaro to this party?"

"No, we felt like we needed something a little more expensive for tonight. Thankfully, the Governor has a few high ranking gear heads as friends and we managed to procure you a classic Ashton Martin DB5, perfect for your undercover mission Mr. Bond."

"Give me the keys," Danny stated with a smirk and held out his hands.

"Drive safely, this is only a rental," Steve warned.

"I'm not you," Danny countered, "I'm an oil tycoon."

Steve shook his head and handed over the keys.

Danny disappeared, was gone for a good half hour, and then sauntered back into the office with more swagger then before. The grin that spread across his face was prices less as he tossed the keys from hand to hand.

"I really like that car,"He stated as he stopped before his friends.

"Feeling better?" Steve asked.

"I'm thinking of completely ditching out on this operation and just taking that car for a joy ride and returning it when the evening is over," Danny answered honestly. "If anything gets boosted for this heist, it's going to be that car, and even though it's not really mine, it's going to break my heart to hand over these keys to some schmuck."

"But that's the plan, Danny, So you have to go alone with it. One super desirable car is bound to catch everyone's attention, and I believe that to get their hands on the cars, your valets will be involved with the heist crew. It's wired, making it even more of a spy car then it were when it came into our facility two days ago." Chin explained with a laugh.

"That doesn't make it any easier to let it go," Danny said with a sigh. "Did you get to drive it, Chin? Do you even know what it's like?"

"No, I haven't had the pleasure," Chin answered honestly.

"Oh well, then I understand. Steve, you should at least give Chin a chance to drive the car."

"Maybe later," Steve said with a smirk, "for now we're just too busy with final prep."

"Here," Chin stated as he turned to Danny and was greeted with a sympathetic glance from his friend, "we may as well get you set up with the last of your equipment. This gold Rolex has a camera and a tracking beacon. These cufflinks are worth $5000 dollars and this is your wedding band."

"Does it have a self destruct mechanism, Q?" Danny asked as he held the wedding band in the palm of his hand.

"No," Chin stated and shook his head.

"Are you sure?" Danny asked sarcastically with a grin.

"Maybe in your case," Chin retorted as he played along."

"So yes then?" Danny smiled.

Chin shook his head again with and audible sigh and opened another box of equipment, "here is your earbud, and a button camera."

"It's like Christmas at Q branch!" Danny stated and fixed the button cam so that it wasn't covered by his tie, but it remained concealed enough to not be noticeable.

5-0

When Kono walked into the office, Danny could swear he heard trumpets blast and strings sighing as the woman walked through the doors. Everyone fell silent and simply stared - even the guest investigators who were on loan form the other organization.

"Stop it!" Kono stated pulling everyone out of their shock. "Have you never seen a girl in a dress before?"

"With legs that go one forever? Nope," Danny answered and was elbowed by Chin.

"Well aren't you the lucky one tonight," Kono mocked.

"I'd say I probably married the prettiest girl in the world," Danny stated honestly. "You're on fire tonight, and Chin hasn't even made you leithal yet."

"Who said i didn't do that myself?" Kono asked with a slight flounch.

"Please tell me you're armed," Danny stated.

Kono winked.

"Can I guess where it's hidden?" Danny asked and was pushing one - or all - of the work place boundaries.

Chin shot Danny a warning glare.

"I'm over it, we've been married too long," Danny said more to Chin than to Kono as he tried not to look at her again but the pull of her allure was too much. He motioned to the top of Kono's dress - in the breast area - and got a shake of the head from Kono and a swift kick from Chin.

Kono wore a red dress, cut above the knee and wrapped tightly - hugging all of her curves. Her hair was up in a tightly wrapped french twist with blood red hibiscus floors arranged to one side. Her heals were high gloss black platforms with lacing that traced perfect lines along her legs. Danny's tie matched her dress perfectly in colour and had been custom made by the designer who had made the dress. She brought with her one of her personal handbags - an expensive gift from Adam - in a matching high gloss black finish as her shoes.

"All right, Chin, where are my jewels?" Kono asked with a flounce after Danny recovered from his mis-step.

"You're way to excited," Chin stated but fetched the items from the fault.

"Remember Kono, you'll be wearing over 1.5 million dollars in diamonds, and we are being held accountable for all of them. So either they stay on your person, or you make sure that one of our identified thieves take them." Steve warned as Chin opened the blue velvet cases that the Jewels had been sent in. "The necklace is the only piece that was large enough to hide a tracking device in."

With the diamond wreath around her neck, hair piece tucked in to accentuate the flowers, and wedding band in place, Kono's disguise was complete and she and Danny stood to one side of the office, together, while Steve ran through the last of his plan.

"I was worried, for a minute, that the thieves would pass the two of you by, but I don't think they'll be able to resist you, Kono." Steve stated and this time it was his turn to get the warning glare from Chin.

"That's always been the plan," Kono said with a wink that silenced her cousin.

"Hey, we're married. I'm not going to put up with you being a flirt!" Danny scolded.

"Honey I love you, I'm going to fawn all over you all night."

"Take it easy woman, you're smothering me." Danny joked.

"Okay, we get it, you two are going to be just fine," Chin said with a wave of his hands. "You two had better get moving. Go for a drive, be seen by the public and then show up for the party like you're the most important people that are going to grace them with your presence. Make sure to use the valet service."

"We _are_ the most important people," Kono said with a flounce, "didn't you get that memo?

"Must have missed it," Chin stated with a laugh.

"You know, it would make it even more impressive if I knew you were armed," Danny said slyly.

"I am," Kono said seductively. "I already told you that."

"She brought the handcuff!" Danny stated excitedly while Kono laughed and waved her handbag and it rattled slightly.

"Get out of here!" Steve ordered and pointed at the door. "You two are just too distracting."

"Aloha," Kono sang as she and Danny headed out of the office arm in arm.


	17. Money Talks

**A/N: Hello to all my favourite people! Yes, here is an update. I know you have all been waiting a long time for this – or any updates from me. I've been super busy and on holiday. I just got back yesterday from a seven day Caribbean cruise – which was amazing and no I was not on the stranded Carnival ship. I was hoping that all the tropical locals would give me all the inspiration I need to finish this story off…all it did was spur a few other story ideas and by the time I had a moment to sit down an write I was just too tired. But now I am back. **

**If you want to hear more about the trip PM me and I will tell you all about it, I'll also send you over to my Facebook to see all the pictures. **

**But until then I hope you enjoy this chapter and I want you to know that I've missed you and I really want to hunker down and get back to all my writing. More to come very soon with Danny's 642 things to rant about to follow!**

**Thanks so much everyone for being so patient with me! Love you all!**

Chapter 17: Money Talks

_Tailored suits, chauffeured cars, fine hotels and big cigars - up for grabs, up for a price, where the red hot girls keep on dancing through the night. The claim is on you, the sights are on me. So what do you do, that's guaranteed? Hey little girl, you want it all, the furs, the diamonds, the painting on the wall. Come on come on, love me for the money. Come on, come on. Listen to the money talk... _- AC/DC

As they drove around, Danny caught Kono fidgeting with the wedding band she wore, and she had fallen unusually quiet. It was unlike Kono to get too nervous, even when it came to undercover work. She was always professional, kept her nerves to a bare minimum and, when it mattered most, knew how to get the job done, but for some strange reason – one that only Kono would know – Danny saw that she was uneasy, and after his years in the field, he knew he had to do something about it.

"People will never believe we're married, or that we've been married for as long as we're saying we've been married if you keep playing with that," Danny stated to end the silence that had developed between them as he turned down the radio in the little car and waited for Kono's response. "It is a nice ring, and all, but babe, you gotta forget about it."

Kono continued to play with the ring as she shot Danny a sideways – and very testy – glance before she flipped him the bird and carried on with what was going on in her own mind, but after a few more moments of contemplations she spoke.

"Do you think we could have handled this differently?" she asked seeming unsure of her situation.

"Ask me that at the end of the night when the mission is over," Danny answered. "We can't really know if we've made the right decisions until it's all over, and even then there will be things we could have, should have, would have done differently."

"No, that's not what I mean," Kono said and sighed. "I want to know if you think - as my superior - if I pushed this case too far. We could have stopped after Blanchard and just arrested everyone else for the crimes that we've uncovered, but instead we are potentially endangering the lives of a lot of people just because we want to catch them in the act."

"We've covered all the bases that we could possibly cover. Chin and Steve have everything else under control and the Governor's office, and HPD, has done background checks into the people coming to this party. Most of the most important people have been warned, and from what our intelligence tells us, the heist crew is none the wiser. Plus, if you are worried about the well-being of the people in attendance, those who were warned about what could possible go wrong tonight have all opted to remain as guests on the list and we have been given full inventory lists of the belongings and vehicles that they will be attending with. Everyone wants to see this case come to a smooth conclusion and everyone who knows about it are ready to help with everything. Now, you need to have some nerves in situations like this, but you can't second guess yourself Kono. You've done everything you could possibly do – gone above and beyond – and just look at where we are now. You've done an amazing job and you look super hot. So now you have to see this through to the end."

"Is it true the Mia tried to invoke the cancelation clause?" Kono asked and in her own way accepted the compliment and made a mental not to reprimand Danny at another time.

"Yes, first thing this morning, after everything had been finalized at the venue and set-up was already on going. The flowers arrived. The caterer was already taking over the kitchen and she tried, out of the blue, to cancel the party, but Denning's had his lawyer go through the contract right in front of her, and pointed out the loophole that they would exploit if the party was canceled to put that company completely out of business and she caved and carried on," Danny explained. "So, if we are lucky, everything will go according to yours and McGarrett's skillfully laid out plan. If we aren't lucky, we've spooked the heist crew into hiding and you and I can just enjoy the evening. It's win win, in my opinion. But, my gut tells me that this is all going down tonight, and I know - because his voice is always in my head - that Steve is hoping for one of the biggest take downs in the history of Five-O. Who could dispute our awesomeness after this? I'm kinda hoping for that too, just to prove to you that you've done a very good job on this case."

"You really think so?" Kono asked as she perked up.

"Oh yeah, you've done everything right. You asked all the right questions and now here we are, acting like millionaires just waiting for this to all come to a head and fall into our laps while Chin and Steve hang out in a stinky, sweaty, man infested stakeout van. I kinda feel like Tony Stark, right now."

"Not James Bond?" Kono asked with a giggle.

"Nope, this is going to be far too 'Rock and Roll' for James Bond."

"I agree."

"And, just remember Kono; if rock and roll has taught us anything, it's to go big or go home." Danny stated as he pulled to a stop by the valet entrance. "Are you ready to do this?" He asked before he got out of the car.

"Let the money talk," Kono stated, and as dramatically as she could, the door was opened for her and she made her grand debut.

5-0

Governor Denning looked nervously around the ballroom as Danny and Kono walked in and all eyes turned to the bombshell in the red dress. Moments later, after Danny had picked up drinks at the bar and had moved along toward the centre of the room where Kono was talking to a few people neither of them recognized, Denning joined them.

"Good evening Mr. Browning, so nice of you to join us," Denning stated and Danny and Kono turned their attention toward him, "and this must be the lovely, new, Mrs. Browning. Charmed, Madame," he added with a slight bow and a knowing smile.

"You say it like I've been married more than once," Danny stated mockingly as he played to the crowd that had gathered around them, and then turned to Kono, "oh wait, I have."

Kono giggled and bat her eyes. "Wife number three, aren't I?"

"Two, darling, but number one in my heart," Danny answered smoothly.

The gathering crowd also chuckled at the amusement and then Denning invited the Brownings to join him for a private conversation regarding a rather large investment – all for show. Danny and Kono excused themselves from the group and followed Sam Denning to an outside corner.

"So is everything in order?" Sam whispered once they were alone.

"Seem to be," Kono said with a little flounce as she made eye contact with another man in a suit and Danny glared as he passed.

"He's one of ours." Danny heard in his hear from Chin in the surveillance van.

"He's checking out my wife," Danny stated more to Denning in an angry sort of tone then in response to Chin,

"Wasn't that the idea?" Sam whispered.

"Yes," Kono said with a smile, leaned in as if she were very familiar with the Governor and whispered in his ear, "but we can't spend our entire evening with you, sir, or we may blow our cover."

"I understand," Sam stated and shook Danny's hand. "I hope you have an enjoyable evening," he added and walked off.

Danny sipped at the champagne in his hand and shrugged at Kono who shot Danny a worried look that seemed to say – "maybe next time, dear" – and returned to watching the unfamiliar people.

"He's extremely nervous," Steve stated in Danny's ear as he and Kono began to stroll around the room and most of the promenade was monitored by the button cam.

"Wouldn't you be if you knew someone was going to crash your party?" Kono whispered into Danny's ear and then giggled as if she were flirting with her husband.

Danny chuckled, placed his empty glass down on the bar that they had come back around too and then lead Kono out onto the dance floor as the band struck up their first song.

"That is actually a really good vantage point," Chin stated as Danny and Kono moved through the increasingly crowded dance floor.

"Well my dear, are you prepared to dance the night away?" Danny asked as couples seemed to close in around him and Kono.

"Oh yes," Kono answered as she moved with elegance and grace.

5-0

As the evening passed away - the sun set, the party goers enjoyed themselves and to keep a proper eye on the situation, Kono and Danny spent the majority of the evening on the dance floor to have the advantage – so too did any hope of the heist happening before the party would come to an end. Hours had already passed away enjoyably enough, but little to no action had merited more then a hand shake and a sharp glance from the undercover duo. Mingling with the other party goers wasn't enough to keep eyes on all the workers, but from the dance floor the surveillance could continue.

Throughout the evening Kayley and Mia were spotted, tracked, and seemed to be carrying on in a fashion that was typical for two women who were extremely busy carrying out what would have taken months to plan. They bustled about the room, checking bartenders and ordering around the wait staff. Danny wondered if it were all for show and voiced that opinion as a whispered into his lovely wife's ear, and the response that he got was a ten-four and more agents moved in to watch the two ladies more carefully.

By the time the dinner meal was served, Kono began to doubt her intell. They had taken up their seats with a group of other party goers - two of which were confirmed by Steve and Chin to be under-covers as well - and the party seemed to carry on without a hitch. Steve and Chin remained silent, listening in on several other frequencies, and beginning to think that tonight wasn't going to be the night.

During the meal Governor Denning got up to make his speech, thanking the patrons for their generous support and showing off the money raised through the silent auctions and other events that lead up to this night. He was happy with his success, but Danny and Kono could tell that there was nervousness in his movements.

Hoping that the nervousness from the Governor would be seen by the others in the room as a general nervousness for such a big event, Kono and Danny settled in for the remainder of the evening. They enjoyed the meal and they reconciled themselves to leaving early to regroup with the rest of the team in hopes of developing something for the next night.

"We were too confident," Kono whispered into Danny's ear as they took up their places on the dance floor once more when the meal was over.

"We don't know that for sure," was Steve's response. "Just stay in the ball room and keep an eye open."

Kono shook her head and Danny shrugged as the music slowed again.

5-0

Out in the sweltering heat of the surveillance van - it didn't help that the equipment put off enough of it's own residual heat - Steve and Chin sat in silence watching monitors that scanned through facial recognition software, while other were views from within the venue and of the parking lot, valet service, and outside patio. Danny's button cam also had its own monitor and two other under-covers did as well. In the background the police radio frequencies droned on about alleged prostitutes on their regular corners and routine traffic stops.

Steve yawned and stretched - about ready to remove his heavy Kevlar vest as the heat inside the van was worse then the evening warmth of the Hawaiian nights.

"We should crack a window," Steve stated as he stood and, in the cramped quarters, he moved maybe a foot - pulling his chair with him - and then sat again.

"We may as well open the back doors, I don't think anything is going to happen tonight," Chin sighed.

"What are those two doing?" Steve asked as he watched two valet attendants fidgeting with what looked like a police scanner at their booth. They checked their watches way to often and their behaviour was the most suspicious thing Steve had witnessed in hours – so it caught his attention and kept it.

"All available units please respond," The police scanner inside the van announced. "Shot's fired at the Hawaiian Bank on Waikiki Boulevard. Possible hostage situation. Repeat. All available units please respond. Shots Fired."

"That's two blocks from here," Chin stated and practically jumped out of his seat.

"Wait!" Steve yelled as he could hear sirens already on the air outside of the van. "Look." he added and pointed at the squad of valet attendants as they threw keys at more men who appeared from almost out of nowhere dressed in exactly the same uniforms but who had not been on duty all night.

"It's a diversion!" Chin stated and slammed his hand down onto the microphone that would connect him with Danny. "Head's up, your car was just stolen by the valets!"

"This is Commander McGarrett, Operation is a GO!" Steve announced into his own radio as he and Chin jumped into action.


	18. Another One Bites The Dust

**A/N: Happy Thursday Everyone! Thank you so much for all the amazing comments for the last chapter. I really hope this one lives up to all the hype and excitement you guys seem to have for it. I'm almost done with this story and I'm pretty happy with it. I think my muse is back after this week's episode of Five-O. I was a DOG fan before I was a Five-O fan so I loved seeing Dog and his family on the show. They portrayed what he does for Hawaii and his respect for Law Enforcement so well. What you saw in that opening sequence was perfectly Dog and I loved it. It was an amazing tribute to him and his family. They were great! So I have a renewed hope and a renewed muse!**

**Enjoy (P.S: This song was meant for Steve McGarrett!)**

Chapter 18: Another One Bites The Dust

_Steve walks warily down the street, with the brim pulled way down low. Ain't no sound but the sound of his feet, machine guns ready to go. Are you ready? Are you ready for this? Are you hanging on the edge of your seat? Out of the doorway the bullets rip to the sound of the beat. Another one bites the dust..._ - Queen

Danny and Kono stood together in the middle of the ballroom floor as people flooded into the ballroom from all of the exits. Some of them had disguised their faces, others were still wearing uniforms for the evening, but for the most part, it was pandemonium. A man, someone that neither Kono nor Danny recognized stood at the front of the room with two other people - men or women - it was hard to tell by the solid black get ups and the body armour. How they got past Steve and Chin, and their surveillance, was the question that was floating around in Danny's mind as he wrapped his arms around Kono and she played the part of frightened damsel, as many of the couples in the room did the same thing.

"All right all you rick little brats. Listen to me and do exactly as I say, and no one will get hurt. Give us all your valuables and hit the deck. Don't try calling the cops. Our people are monitoring this location and scrambling all your cell signals. If you try to phone and we catch you, you will be shot." The man at the front of the room announced as members of his crew started to pass through the crowd pulling at jewelry and yelling at party goers.

"He's lying, there aren't any other signals coming in or going out of that location. They are using a police radio to communicate and we've linked up to their frequency." Chin stated and all of the undercover operatives in the room could hear him. "Now that doesn't mean that this guy isn't going to shoot you."

"Hand over your Cells!" The man at the front of the room yelled as well, just as two people came upon Danny and Kono.

"Well hello beautiful, time to hand over all your pretty little bobbles." One man stated and held a gun to Danny's head as they pulled Kono and Danny apart.

"Don't hurt her!" Danny ordered.

"What cha gonna do, brah?" the man holding him asked.

"Oh shit!" Chin stated as he saw the man's face - or what little was showing - and recognized him. "Kono don't let him see you. He'll blow your cover. He's one of Sang Min's old associates."

The second man pulled at the neck lace around Kono's neck as she struggled and cried and tried to slip out of his grip, all the while tossing her head - causing some of her hair to come loose.

"Please, don't hurt me, just take it." Kono stated.

"And the shoes!"

"Here, take them, take it all," Kono sobbed and pulled the hair pin from her hair and dropped it into the man bag.

"And your husband Rolex, we'll take that, and his cufflinks, and your wedding ring."

"What can that possible mean to you," Danny spat at the second man.

"Nothing, but gold is gold!" The second man chuckled and then looked into Danny's face. "Hey, you're a cop!" He yelled and jumped back.

"No I'm not!" Danny stated as he held up his hands and cowered back into the second guy but cop had been said loud enough that the heist crew had already started to flee.

"Yes you are!" The second man yelled and waved his riffle around. "You arrested me in a drug case three years ago."

"Cops! Fall back." The second guy stated as he released Danny and caught a glimpse at Kono. "Kalakaua?" He gasped and raised his weapon.

"Oh for Christ sake!" Danny spat and slammed an elbow hard into the guy behind him before he could flee.

"That's not a good idea," Kono stated her weapon pressed against the first mans temple as he moved to help his partner.

"How the hell did you manage that?" he yelled as Danny tossed Kono a pair of handcuff he'd stashed in an inner pocket and then cuffed his own suspect - all the while screaming and panic had erupted all around it.

"Thy holster?" Danny asked as he looked up from his place straddled over the baddie on the floor.

Kono winked and cuffed her suspect leaving them face down in the middle of the dance floor before they moved off to help some of the other party goers.

"So much for our magical evening," Kono said with a smirk. "Now who are you James Bond or Tony Stark?"

"James Bond," Danny stated as he mocked straightening his tie before he threw a punch and knocked another man to the floor. "I guess that makes you my Moneypenny."

Kono jumped, planted a food on a free chair and as she launched herself into a kick - which threw another fleeing suspect to the ground - she revealed a slight glimpse of the lacy black underwear she was sporting before she landed on both feet and straightened her dress for propriety sake.

Danny winked as he caught the fallen suspect and cuffed him.

"You are a scoundrel Mr. Bond," Kono stated using her best British accent before she stepped away again to help the next person in amongst all the chaos.

5-0

As the all call rang out on the radio from Steve, he burst out of the back of the surveillance van and hoped across the street to another waiting vehicle. Inside was Commander Gutches of the Navy SEALs - on loan to partner up with Steve for the night.

"Follow those cars!" He ordered half to Gutches and half into his own radio frequency that broadcast to all of his other operatives. "As soon as we are away from the site, HPD needs to move in and calm the crowds. Danny and Kono have eyes and ear on the inside, but it's not going to be enough to calm the masses, and someone make sure that the Governor is all right!"

A chorus of ten fours came over the radio frequency and like a shot, Gutches hammered hard on the accelerator.

"So this is police work?"

"More or less." Steve smirked and pulled his automatic riffle from the back seat.

"I could get used to this," Wade stated and followed the Aston Martin to the northern most port location as other members of SEAL team nine were in pursuit as well.

5-0

Chin moved into the ballroom with a rather large army of HPD officers following him - their weapons all at the ready. As they entered the venue they caught up with the two ladies, who were supposed to be in charge, trying to flee the scene of the crime with the big burly man who had been shouting orders in the ballroom.

"You're that florist!" Mia gasped as she was handcuffed and just before Chin tried to move onward.

"Detective Lieutenant Kelly," Chin said and tapped his badge. "I'd fire your actual florist. Those flowers had bugs," he added with a smirk. "Book 'em boys," he stated and moved onward into the venue.

Inside the ballroom, the panic has calmed down as HPD officers moved in and the undercover officers broke their covers to assist with the arrest. Danny and Kono still stood in the middle of the dance floor calling out orders and guarding the suspects who had been cuffed and seated in lines in the middle of the room to separate them from the party guests.

Governor Denning paced nervously, running his hands over his head and asking every last person - be they civilian or law enforcement, he couldn't tell - if they were all right, and he apologized profusely on behalf of Five-O and the state of Hawaii.

"I guess he's okay." One of the undercover officers said to Danny as he pointed across the room toward the governor.

"McGarrett will be pleased to hear it," Danny said mockingly and then huffed. "But I'm sure we're in for an earful tomorrow."

"You're probably right," Kono said with a sigh and continued to help as more suspects were cuffed and lowered to the ground in the neatly developing lines. "At least no one got hurt!"

"Just a little shaken up," the undercover agent stated and moved off again as Chin entered the ballroom with more officers.

"Where's McGarrett?" Danny asked as Chin made his way to the middle of the room.

"Doing McGarrett things with the SEALs? You know your partner. He's drawn to the water," Chin stated mockingly, making Danny and Kono both roll their eyes.

"We better get moving and get down there." Danny said with a sigh and tucked his weapon into the band of his pants.

"He's in good hands, Danny. We've got to do crowd control here." Kono said as she motioned to the sacks of nearly stolen personal items at her feet.

"Sorry, Governor, but I think your party is over," Danny said as Denning came to stand with the three Five-Os.

"Where's McGarrett?" Denning stated with a quick glance around.

"He's following the last lead. This should all be wrapped up in a few minutes."

5-0

Wade Gutches pulled the car to a stop, just out of sight of where the Aston Martin disappeared. He cut the engine and watched as Steve listened and then pulled the ear bud out of his ear.

"I'm going in," Steve stated as he pushed open his door and held his weapon across his chest. "I want you and the team to follow when I give the signal. We have all the evidence we need now. I'd just rather see this go down quietly over ugly. Team two has already run into hostility at the second dock locations."

"So you're going to smoke these ones out into the open first?" Gutches asked with a smirk.

"I'm sure they already know that their friends have all been arrested. This will be a last stand. We'll see if they are smart, or really, really, dumb." Steve stated as Gutches got out of the car and from the shadows of the dock yard the rest of team nine appeared. "Cover me," Steve said with a smile and headed onward alone.

Steve walked warily around the corner of the stacked shipping containers that blocked off the ship from the rest of the shipping yard. The yard was silent. None of the over head, working lights were on. None of the machinery moved. Everything seemed to have shut down for the night, but on the wind Steve could hear the calls and the movement of workers somewhere else along the harbour walls.

Somewhere off in the distance shipping containers moved and creaked as they were lifted up and onto the barges that would move them, but around Steve everything was silent - suspiciously silent for a place that had only just seen several cars rush into the location. Even more surprising was the lack of the nervous whispering Danny always provided in a situation like this one.

"Never lending out my partner again," Steve sighed to himself as he clutched his weapon to his chest and listened for a sign of movement.

Then suddenly there it was. A creak - the sound of rusty hinges on a well used container - and a sound, like the buzzing of bees and the popping of corn, and Steve reacted bringing his weapon up to his sight as the ting of metal on metal echoed through the buzzing and the blasts of thunder rang our and echoed off the containers.

In the doorway to another contain Steve saw a man buckle and hit the ground as the sounds of his SEAL days came flooding back around him and the navy men who were on loan for the evening passed calm and confident orders around from one another as the bullets ceased. With one final shot from his weapon, Steve watched from the shadows as another body hit the ground. As suddenly as it had started it ended and the flood lights, which had been off, sprang to life and Steve moved into the container and looked down at the pristine vehicle he had been following.

"Area is secure Commander." The all clear came as more lights were illuminated and the real extent of the midnight raid came into view.

"Word from the other team is that all is well. Suspects are in custody and the barges have been commandeered by the coast guard. Also, Chin says you've filled up HPD lock up." Gutches stated as he rounded another corner a radio in his hand.

Steve smirked.

"Coast guard are moving in on our ship now," Gutches added as headlights flooded the area and the silver Camaro pulled to a stop with police cruisers taking up the rear.

"Thank you," Steve said as he tapped Gutches on the shoulder, "I'm sure you and your men..."

"And all of _your_ men..." Gutches interrupted.

Steve nodded, "...can take it from here?"

"Yeah go on, and make sure that your team is all right."

Steve walked away from the commotion to where Danny had stopped and had exited the vehicle to lean on the hood.

"Really, got in a firefight without me?" Danny asked sarcastically with his hands in the pockets of his very expensive suit.

"I had back up," Steve stated with a smile.

"Yeah, I heard everything," Danny stated and motioned to his ear, "Including the part where you took out your ear bud." He scolded.

"So why didn't you rant when you knew I was heading in alone?" Steve asked in shock and remembered the ear bud.

"Because you asked for back up just before you rounded that corner," Danny stated. "Young Jedi, you have learned all that I have to teach you, and because I know you took your ear bud out. You do this all the time, McGarrett."

"What? No!" Steve stated in shock as he tried to avoid his partners accusing glare. "Besides, isn't that a line for Kono?" Steve asked with a roll of his eyes.

"Kono doesn't need me. She's got this detective business in the bag. And she's got Chin to look out for her. But you, on the other hand..."

"Yeah, yeah, I'll show you!"

Danny shook his head and held out to the keys to the Camaro.

"How did you get your car?" Steve asked as he snatched the keys out of Danny's hand.

"That's for me to know, and for you to find out."

"Really, that's how you are going to leave this?" Steve asked with a very unimpressed look that crossed his face.

"Had you left your ear bud in, you would have heard everything," Danny snapped.

Steve sighed and moved toward the driver side door.

"That's what I thought." Danny said and hopped into the passenger side.


	19. We R Who We R

**A/N: Hey Everyone! Thanks so much for all the great comments. I'm so glad you liked the last few chapters. They are my favourites! The story is almost over. Two more chapters to write and I think I will have it all wrapped up nicely in a bow for you all.**

**Thanks so much for reading and leaving comments! It means the world to me.**

**Enjoy**

Chapter 19: We R Who We R

_Hot and dangerous - if you're one of us then roll with us, 'cause we make the hipsters fall in love when we got our hot pants on and up, and yes of course we does. We runnin' this town just like a club, and no you don't wanna mess with us - got Jesus on my necklace..._ – Ke$ha

Saturday morning, bright and early, with mountains of paperwork and processing to get through the Five-Os found themselves back in the office with phones ringing and a select few of their favourite HPD officers and SEAL team members lending a hand to wrap up the case from the night before. It was a big one – one of their biggest since the inception of Five-O, and now that the dust had settled there was a mountain of paperwork to scale.

After the take downs at the ship yards, warrants were issued for several other home locations and business locations scattered about the island - a very good friend of the Governor's and a judge had been at the party and in on the proceedings of the even, and had issued the warrants within the hour that followed the take down. HPD and Crime lab had been dispatched - after having spent the evening in readiness - awaiting orders - and had wrapped up all of the other locations before dawn had broken. Many other good friends had been sent home to rest after a long night, and the prospects of one more to come. They were all, once again, assembled in the Five-O office by morning and ready to get down to the business at hand.

The bank diversion, from the night before, had turned out to be nothing more then a last ditch effort to scramble the police. The heist crew members had no idea just how many under cover agents had been assigned to the case - and paid over time thanks to the Governor - so that the operations at the party and the botched bank job never crossed paths except for over radio frequencies.

The heist crew had sent three young trouble makers into the one and only bank that had night hours - and with them they brought pop-rockets and paintball guns. In the commotion the prank played out and as the three tried to flee, they were apprehended by police. No one was hurt - except for a few people who reacted negatively to the pepper balls that had been loaded into the paintball guns instead of their regularly programmed ammunition - and while at HPD being booked for their stunt, they squealed and pointed the finger at the two girls who had tried desperately to carry out their bosses plans.

Kayley - the long standing employee of Mr. Blanchard - took longer to crack, but Mia - the Hawaiian insider - spilled the beans as to her involvement and employment with Mr. Blanchard the moment murder charges were placed on the table. Shortly after this, Kayley gave away her secrets as well. They were processed and locked up, moved into another facility that HPD had as a back up location on busy night, and the remainder of their incarceration would depend on the charges that would eventually be placed on them, and every other member of the heist crew and party company who were in any way affiliated with Mr. Blanchard and his ties to the South American drug lords.

As part of the overall plan, and because Steve had a sense of humour that was unrivalled by any of his team, Blanchard was placed in a holding cell at an HPD location that looked out into a long, empty, hallway. His cell was at the end of the block and from there he could see the check points that all fugitives would have to move through as they were processed and put into holding. Little did he know that Steve had managed to keep him secluded in a location that was rarely used by HPD, but which remained as a back up - secured location - for big cases. As the events of the evening were wrapped up and one by one Blanchard's organization fell, people who would eventually snitch were paraded into the same cell block right before Blanchard's eyes and the full extent of the Five-O investigation played out before him.

Two HPD officers were also assigned to watch the monitors and listen in on any conversations that might take place between Blanchard and the rest of his crew, and all of which would be used against him during his trial.

As the morning wore on, and all of the puzzle pieces that Five-O had gathered over a week of heavy investigations came together, Governor Sam Denning marched into the Five-O office followed by two of his highest ranking security officers and a mousy little woman who looked completely stressed out and out of her element. She had been seen by Steve and his crew on many occasions, but she'd never been anything more then the girl that followed the Governor around and Steve couldn't remember a time when he'd even heard her speak.

"Well done Lads, and Kono," Sam said with a smiled but there was worry and fatigue in his every look, "it looks like a job well done on your side. You've made this office proud."

"It was mostly Kono," Steve said as the young woman blushed.

"I am aware," Denning stated and was passed a file from the mousy woman. "Detective Williams has been keeping me in 'the know' this whole week."

"You did what?" Kono and Steve stated at the same time.

"Well you kept me in the office so much this week - so that I didn't blow my own cover - so I had time to sit down and send off some well worded..."

"Very eloquent," Denning interrupted.

"...emails on your progress and the upcoming test that you will be taking." Danny finished as he addressed Kono. "He knows you're doing the test as well." Danny added and pointed at McGarrett.

"And I think it is about time," Sam stated.

"It's not like I need it," Steve huffed with a wave of his hand, "I'm just doing it to get Danny off my case."

Danny rolled his eyes.

"Well, if it were up to me you wouldn't have to take it, but - as I am not as corrupt as some government officials - I like things by the book and I would prefer to see a qualified detective and naval commander in charge of my task-force, or if you would prefer it, I'll become the commander and chief of this unit, and you will fall in behind Chin Ho and Daniel, and Kono once she passes her detectives exam." Denning stated and his tone spoke volumes as to his authority and accountability - it was also meant to anger McGarrett enough to put him on high alert and played to the information that Danny had already sent along, but it backfired.

"That would never happen," Danny snapped in defense of his partner. "I have no desire to lead. Steve is far more qualified in that respect."

"I agree," Chin added with a nod.

"As far as we are concerned, if Steve isn't leading, there isn't a Five-O. We are who we are and it's because of Steve and his leadership, not because of who we take orders from," Danny said. "But that doesn't mean that any of us are going to let our qualifications slide. If we are to be prestigious and hold ourselves at a higher standard than the rest of HPD, then we much all strive to be prestigious ourselves and not let our qualifications or our standards falter."

"I also have to pay you more with higher qualifications," Sam stated.

"I'm in it for the raise!" Kono said with a sarcastic laugh and a wink toward her superiors.

"He's just here to sign the checks!" Chin stated with a laugh that was directed toward the Governor.

"I suppose that is true," Denning said with a sigh that shouted his defeat. "It is good to know that your team is so very loyal to you - and only you." He added and his comment was directed at Steve.

"That is how a team should be," Steve stated with a smile as he straightened himself up to full height and towered over the gathering, proudly.

"It's all for the best, I suppose," Denning said in defeat as he turned to his mousey assistant. "We have enough to deal with now that we have no one to run the Ball tonight. There is much to be done to cancel this party."

A look of fear crossed the mousey woman's face.

"What are you talking about, cancelling the party? You can't do that. Too many people have put to much time and effort and money into the Ball. Just because you don't have a party planner, doesn't mean that things won't run smoothly." Kono stated and swiped everything that pertained to the case off the smart table and started a new. "You have caterers, vendors, auctioneers, everything already lined up. Five-O has stepped up security. Florists are already dropping off your flowers and the staff at the venue already has the ballroom set up. The orchestra arrived at 10A.M and has already set up and done a sound check for the entertainment this evening. The Ball is happening! Background checks started this morning at 6A.M on the new valet service I hired and I picked up Danny and Chin's dress blues from the dry-cleaner on my way to work this morning. I will not stand for this Ball being canceled."

The four men, standing in a semi circle around Kono, watched in awe as the Mousey woman thanked heaven and handed over another file to her boss.

"Malory, what is this?" Sam asked in shock.

"I have been working very closely with Officer Kalakaua to make sure that the Ball would stand alone, and without any of the party planners ever finding out. I had to steal documents from right under their noses, while your back was turned. I put too much time and effort into keeping this office on tract and ready for this Ball. You are not cancelling it!" Malory stated and stood up a little taller, with her arms crossed over her chest, and mimicking all of Kono's displeasure.

"I hope you all understand that we could run this show!" Kono stated forcefully.

"And there is nothing that will stop this Ball from happening. Do I make myself clear?" Malory added.

The men nodded.

"Good!" Kono and Malory stated in unison.

"You three need to be at the Ball, in full uniforms, by 4P.M." Malory said as she pointed from Steve to Danny and then finally at Chin. "Governor, you will be ready to go, and walking into that ballroom, by 5P.M. with your security, or so help me..."

"I got it!" Sam stated.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a party to finalize and I'll be taking Officer Kalakaua with me." Malory stated and Kono nodded.

"I will meet you three in the ballroom at 4P.M." Kono added and the two ladies walked out - shouting orders into their cellular devices.

"What just happened?" Denning asked when the women were out of ear shot and his two security officers shrugged and shook their heads

"I think rock and roll has taken over, and we better do as we are told or the girls are going to raise a little hell," Danny stated.

"I am afraid of Malory…" Steve said and looked to his partner. "Did you have any idea she was that forceful and testy?"

Danny shook his head, "no, but we should watch out for her. If she and Kono are getting along so well, she may turn around and be governor before any of us even know there's been an election. I'd be afraid of her, if I were you," Danny added as he turned to Sam.

"I agree," Chin said with a nod, "and speaking from personal experience, it's not a good idea to get in Kono's way when she turns into a Diva. Those two will be running this state…never mind Detective Kalakaua."

"I'm in trouble, aren't I?" Sam asked.

"Sadly, sir, I think so," Steve answered.

"I should go and do things that pertain to the state of Hawaii, and maybe I should stay out of Malory's way."

"Good call," Chin and Danny stated together.

"All right, I guess we're on for tonight," Sam said as he turned to his security officers and motioned for them to move. "You boys had better get back to the case, or Kono might kill you when she get's back. You are a woman down now, and I've gained a party planner."

"Two." Danny corrected.

"Maybe I should stay here and lend a hand."

"No! You go back to your office and deal with whatever Kono throws at you," Steve stated and pushed the Governor through the double glass doors and out into the hall. "We have everything under control here - the girls are your problem now."

"Have a nice day!" Chin and Danny waved.

Steve pulled the door shut behind him and turned to face the other two men who had been left alone – even though headquarters and all the private office spaces had been taken over by other officers and naval personnel.

"Clarify something for me…" Steve stated with his back to the double doors. "Kono has been on this case, planning the Ball, and studying all this week?"

"It would seem so," Danny said.

"She's a pro when it comes to multitasking," Chin stated with a grin of pride.

"She's gonna kick my ass on this exam!"

"Better get down to studying!" Danny stated with a chuckle. "Chin and I can handle closing this case, you had better bury yourself in text books – and flash cards." He added and produced a set from his pocket.

"How did you get these away from Kono?" Steve asked as he snatched the cards out of Danny's hand.

"I made a spare set," Danny answered with a shrug. "No go study or my Rookie is going to kick your rookie ass!"

Steve grumbled but fled to his office all the same – kicking Wade Gutches out of the office and into the common area with Danny and Chin.

"Why are you helping him?" Chin asked as he shot a sideways glance at Danny.

"We'll all benefit from a properly educated navy SEAL, and I think Kono just gave him the kick start he needed."

"What just happened?" Wade asked in shock and confusion as he stood before the two Five-Os.

"Steve got caught in his procrastination and now he's freaking out." Danny stated.

"Okay… Where I come from, we fix that with cold water training," Gutches said with a mischievous smile.

"I'll keep that in mind for next time," Danny said with a smirk and the three men pulled all of their case information back up onto the Smart system.


	20. Drown

**A/N: Hey everyone! Thanks so much for sticking with me through my ups and downs on this story. We are almost done. Two more chapters and we'll put this story behind us for other, bigger and hopefully just as exciting things! **

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 20: Drown

_So soon you will learn to forget bad times, the rules and regrets, one day they won't reach out for you. So you put out the fires you set, as smoke fades from your last cigarette. You're a mess but yes you're beautiful. Oh, come on down, we can drown in this water. It's only gonna set us free. __Come on now we can drown in this water. You've been praying for a remedy..._ - Carolina Liar

Steve, Danny and Chin arrived at the venue as they had been instructed - in full regalia - and took up their places as if they were honour guards for the evening's festivities. Malory and Kono were no where to be found, but several other people - staff from the governors mansion and security personnel chosen by Five-O - placed the three immaculately dressed officers in a line to receive the guests and their praises as the ballroom began to fill.

Early in the day news broke about the case that Five-O had been pursuing, and because of its enormity, and the fact that it had ended without injury on the side of the good guys, the ballroom buzzed with chatter as couples and dignitaries arrived for the evening. The biggest news of all had been the international ties to the case and the true stretch of the Five-O authority - with armies at their command - people were leery to criticize Five-O as they stood right before them.

The governor also arrived as he had been instructed and the two ladies who had so vocally left the office in the morning arrived with him - silently as lambs and hanging off his arms as if it had been planned that way - to be sure, it _had_ been planned that way.

Shortly after the arrival, Kono left the Governors side - once again dressed in a stunning gown that touched the floor, this time, and it was the same colour as her police uniform would have been. Her hair was up, her heals were high, and she looked just as elegant and stunning as she did the evening prior. It was a ball after all, and she was a lady, so screw the uniform she was getting all dolled up. She made her way to the place where her counterparts stood and joined them there.

Five-O never looked so good.

"So you've managed to out do yourself again, have you Kono?" Steve asked as Kono took up her place - looking like a queen - next to him in what they were calling 'the line of usual suspects'.

"Who is really in charge here?" Chin asked his cousin mockingly as she shook beside Steve.

Kono bat here eyes. Steve rolled his.

"Nice of you to join us in our parading about, as the Governor's puppets," Danny said grumpily.

"Oh hush, you know we deserve credit for the case and for everything we do. I just simply made it possible for you to all get the thanks that you justly deserve." Kono stated as she stood a little straighter and smiled as people stopped by to shake their hands.

"You had this all planned didn't you?" Danny accused.

"Of course I did!" Kono teased. "You don't think you were the only one in that office with a little spare time to send off some well worded email did you?"

"You have learned much young Padawan." Danny stated with a slight bow.

"Really, we're going to go there," Kono asked with a laugh, "again?"

Danny winked.

"Well, if anyone truly deserves the praise, Kono, it's you." Steve said as he stood rod straight in his dress blues - which somehow made Kono look even more beautiful as she stood beside him.

Kono simply beamed proudly and continued to accept the praise as if she was ruling over her own court - she was a Kalakaua after all.

As the evening wore on, and the Five-O men were released from their duty, they took up their place at the table that had been assigned to them, and sat about just waiting until it would be appropriate for them to leave without seeming rude. Truth be told, they knew that this event, unlike the last, was just a publicity stunt for Five-O and even through the event, as a fundraiser for the state, was happening without any incidences, it wasn't the kind of 'party' that any of the three men wanted to be attending without their usual dates. But this was duty, and they had all come alone because this wasn't going to be a pleasurable evening – at least they didn't think it would be.

So as they sat at the table, sipping the champaign and watching as the Governor and his rich guests mulled about the room, and Kono managed to hook up with her boyfriend - Adam - who had been invited as an investor, Steve slipped his flash cards out of his pocket and one by one placed them face down before him.

"Perfect opportunity to get in some cramming," Chin said with a sigh as he watched Steve for a moment and then offered to quiz him on some of the more obscure questions that may - or may not - appear on his written exam.

"It will break up the monotony of sitting here and shaking hands with people who probably didn't even know that Five-O existed until today when the Governor pointed us out to them." Steve huffed and slapped a card down onto the table.

"This is not your scene," Danny said with a laugh, "but I am happy to see that you had the common sense to have a back up plan for this situation."

"This from the man who has no problem getting up and cutting in on Kono every time she tries to dance with Adam." Steve mocked.

"I danced with her all night last night," Danny said with a nonchalant wave of his hand, "besides, I don't see Chin protesting my interrupting that couple."

"My feelings about Adam are not secret. He did save Kono's life, but at the same time his father was a mob boss. I don't trust him." Chin stated and turned his eyes toward where Kono and Adam stood in the room with the young Malory who was dressed to the nines just as Kono was.

"It's his brother I'm more concerned about." Steve said as he flipped another card and paid little attention to Kono.

"Me too," Chin said with a nod. "He's just got off a pretty long stint in prison for felony crimes. He hasn't earned any trust yet and I don't want him around my cousin."

"Well, you'll have to deal with that until he gets caught doing something unlawful, and then you can arrest him." Danny stated as he grabbed a bunch of Steve's discarded flash cards and started building a tower with them

"Hey! I'm using those!" Steve snapped.

"Are you three really that bored?" Kono asked as she snuck up on them and pointed at the house of cards Danny was trying to protect from Steve - the big bad wolf.

"Yes," The three men chimed together.

"Well I hope you aren't blaming me for your not having invited dates to this party," Kono huffed.

"What, and make them sit here while we are paraded around for the sake of fundraising?" Steve asked. "That's not fair!"

"And you don't think that Catherine and Gabby wouldn't be perfectly happy chatting with one another until you three were done?" Kono asked with her hands on her hips. "It's not like we made you guys stand around for that long, and you could have invited the other guys - Gutches, Max, Kamekona - to be your entertainment for the night."

"We tried to get them to come but they knew how boring it would be," Steve stated, "but we're going to meet up with them at the Tropics Bar as soon as we can ditch out of this."

"So you have a party planned outside of this party?" Kono asked indignantly.

"Not a party...just drinks, and by drinks I mean beer because this champaign is doing nothing for us." Steve explained, flipped his last card, knocked down Danny's tower and gathered the cards up to start over.

"And what if I call Gabby and Catherine right now and make them show up here?" Kono asked.

"That wouldn't be fair, they wouldn't have had all day to get ready like you did," Steve said and Danny and Chin waved at him to get him to stop, but it was too late, the words had escaped.

"Is that what you think I did all day?" Kono gasped.

"NO!" Steve stated trying to back peddle. "I know you were very busy, but you clearly had some time to get ready because you look beautiful Kono."

"What Steve is trying to say, is that we knew that we would be 'working' tonight and that it wouldn't have been fair to invite people if we were going to have to neglect them." Chin explained.

"Exactly," Steve chimed in.

"And what about Chin?" Danny asked as he mouthed - I got your back - to the man who sat next to him.

"Chin knows plenty of women he could have asked to accompany him to his event!" Kono stated indignantly.

"It doesn't matter now. Dinner will be served shortly and then we can leave when that is over and the Governor has made his speeches, thanked everyone for their money and presented the awards to the deserving people of Hawaii. Then we can leave without being rude, and we'll just have a few beers with the guys." Steve stated and flipped over another card. "At which point I'll be heading home to get a good nights sleep before the physical exam tomorrow morning. I'll have the upper hand Officer Kalakaua, because I didn't stay out partying all night." He added with a triumphant glance.

"You'll have the upper hand because you are a Navy SEAL!" Kono accused. "But that's fine because I'm going to take you to the cleaners on the written test!"

"Sure, now you two get on the competition bandwagon!" Danny huffed.

"Just trying to keep up with you, Danny," Steve said with a wink.

"Don't take it too hard, Danny," Kono said and bat here eyes once more. "Come on, dance with me one more time before I officially have to give you up as my partner."

"He's always been my partner."

"Not on this case he wasn't!" Kono retorted and Danny followed her out onto the dance floor obediently.

"She's going to give you a run for your money tomorrow." Chin said as he looked across the empty space - left by Danny.

"She gives me a run for my money every day, but don't tell her I said that."

"Should we make her the leader?" Chin mocked.

"Oh come on Chin, when she wants to lead, she does and we don't even know we're taking orders until it's too late."

"That is very true," Chin said with a nod, "and it will be worse when she's a detective."

"Be grateful you have her," Governor Sam Denning stated as he snuck up on the two remaining men. "I may try to steal her for my own staff. Kono Kalakaua is kind of incredible."

"We know," Chin stated proudly, "but we also know where her loyalties lie. So good luck with the offers, but I think she'll be staying with Five-O."

Dennings laughed. "I'm sure you're right," he said with a slight nod. "I just wanted to thank you again for the job well done, and to wish you good luck on your upcoming examinations. From what I was able to gather from Kono, she's ready for this."

"Okay, now I'm getting nervous," Steve stated with a shake of his head. "Maybe I should just go home and study."

Dennings raised and eyebrow to Steve.

"There is a little wager – more of a competition – that is going on between Danny and Steve and which encompasses Kono and her test scores," Chin explained as Denning turned a questioning glance his way.

"What do you get if you beet Kono?" Sam asked as he turned back to Steve.

"Bragging right…"

"That's it?" Sam asked.

"That part of the bet remains undecided at this time." Steve answered and then looked at Chin. "How did I not put money on this, or anything for that matter?"

"You and Danny rarely bet, you just throw your weight around and whether you win or lose, you usually find a way to get what you want from Danny. Considering all he really wants is for you to finish your qualifications, I'd say he's already won." Chin said but there was sympathy in the way he said it.

"A hundred bucks says I get dinner out of Danny on Tuesday regardless of whether I win or not," Steve stated challengingly to Chin.

"Two hundred says he sees right through you," Denning piped in.

"To rich for my blood," Chin stated and threw his hands up in defeat.

"Governor, you're on. I'll call you Tuesday night from the restaurant so that you can deliver my money in person." Steve confidently declared as he shook the Governor's hand.

"I'll be waiting in my office, bright and early, Wednesday morning to receive your money with my morning latte – double espresso, low fat, no whip – remember that McGarrett!" Dennings stated and left the table.

"The best use of our tax payers money," Chin said with a sigh and snatched the flash cards out of Steve's hands. "Here, I'll quiz you because you had better win now!"


	21. Call Off Your Dogs

**A/N: Well everyone this is it! Thank you so much for reading and commenting on this story. I hope you enjoyed it! I had a lot of really different emotions as I wrote this story. I am glad to see it finished, but I'm sad to see it go – as I always am – but this one was really hard to write at time and I'm just glad I was able to finish it! Again, Thank you so much for reading and stay tuned for much more to come!**

**Thank You!**

Chapter 21: Call Off Your Dogs

_All right. You win. I give up. I give in. I've walked the walk, danced the dance, I'm a victim of circumstance, and I've come to the conclusion that the damage has been done, and I'm under no illusions - time to face the music - it's time to let the white flag fly and...run run...hide hide. Call off your dogs..._ - The Stone Coyotes

Danny sat at his desk, his feet resting on its top, as he flipped through emails on his tablet. It was just after noon on Tuesday. He'd come back from lunch to find the office completely deserted - much like it had been all day - and he liked it like that. It meant Steve and Kono were still at the academy either writing or waiting for results.

Monday had been a write off for everyone - expect Danny and Chin. They had made it into the office after having Sunday all to themselves and even through Steve and Kono had both finished their physical examinations in record time, they weren't sharing any of the details. Danny was fine with this turn of event because he had a lazy beach day planned for Sunday and he was happy to have his daughter all to himself.

On Monday, however, Chin and Danny dove into the wrap up of their case - filing the paperwork, speaking to lawyers, overseeing transfers of prisoners and relaying messages and evidence from their labs all the way around the Pacific Rim. As the two eldest law enforcement officers - and no rookie to the volumes of paper work that would have to get finished - Danny and Chin worked calmly and efficiently together until, by the end of the day on Monday, most of the case was tied up in a bow and the last of the phone calls to be made would be for the Governor to handle – it was time for Five-O to sign off.

Steve and Kono, though their rivalry had hit a fevered pitch on the obstacle course on Sunday afternoon, called a truce and called in to take personal days to study for their exams. Little did Danny know, they spent all of Monday sprawled out in Steve's living room with text books, flash cards and Doris making up for years of towering over her son and forcing him to get to his studies - she was making up for lost time, and provided lemonade and cookies when snacks were needed.

Another call Tuesday morning - from both Kono and Steve - prepped Danny for a quiet day in the office alone, while Chin had decided to put in some time at the HPD precinct trolling for possible cases that Five-O could pick up on as soon as Kono and Steve made it back into the office. Danny was left to man the office.

The phone calls were rooted directly to his office phone - or went to voicemail if Danny just wasn't the guy they wanted to talk to. Case files - which were finished and had had their days in court - were stamped, signed off and filed amongst the others that were building up in filing cabinets around the office. It was this kind of busy work of filing and inventory that occasionally Danny liked to get done. He'd take his time. He'd file everything in perfect order and then the mess that metaphorically was waiting for him all over the place wouldn't bother him when the next disaster struck - and Danny knew it wouldn't be long before they were thrown into the next crazy adventure. A down day was always a welcome day just to get all the miscellaneous work done and out of the way.

Danny had finished all that he had set out to do on Tuesday morning before lunch. He'd called Chin, met him at Rainbow Diner and had an enjoyable meal – just the two of them. Then the two men split up again with the plan to meet up once more in the office in the afternoon to wait for Steve and Kono to waltz in - well they were expecting one to waltz and the other to slump through the doors dejected because someone had to be the winner and someone else had to be the loser.

The silence of the lazy Tuesday afternoon was interrupted when Chin walked through the double glass doors and right into Danny's office.

"Word from the street is that they are on their way in as we speak," Chin stated as he sat down in front of Danny's desk and Danny placed his tablet to one side.

"Who did you talk to? Was it Kono? Did she give anything away?" Danny asked in rapid fire.

"Yes, I spoke with Kono. No she gave me no information, but she did tell me all about how annoyed she was to have to sit around for so long to wait for her results."

"But she didn't tell you anything?"

"Nothing," Chin said with a shake of his head.

"She's taunting me now," Danny stated as he pulled his phone from his pocket and checked it just to see if Steve had texted or called – it would have rang but Danny check it anyway and was disappointed.

"They are taunting you. They know you want the information more then anyone else."

"Not true, all I want to know is if they passed or not. I mean, I know they did, how do you not give a guy like McGarrett his detective's qualifications? He's over qualified as it is. I'm just happy that he finally - after years of nagging - had to read the manual and learn the protocol. Do I expect him to abide by them? No, but at least I have that leverage now!"

"Ah, I see what you did there," Chin said with a laugh and shook a finger at Danny as they both heard the office door open and within moment both Kono and Steve were standing in Danny's office.

"How are my little scholars?" Danny asked teasingly.

Kono and Steve both rolled their eyes this time.

"So, who's the better detective?" Danny asked. "You did pass, right? You are a detective now, right?" He asked an emphatically directed his questions at Steve.

"Of course I did!" Steve snapped. "I passed with flying colours!"

"Good, that's all I wanted to hear."

"You don't care about me?" Kono asked and mocked her dejection – but her eyes sparkled with playfulness.

"I didn't have any doubts, Kono. I knew you would pass and make me proud!" Danny stated.

"And you were sure I would fail?" Steve asked.

Chin laughed.

"Well, I had my doubts. Speaking from experience I know you don't pay much attention to police procedures and protocols so I didn't think you'd pick them up for this exam. You're all navy, all the time," Danny stated with an emphatic flail of one hand, "but I am happy to hear that you passed. I guess you did study, which is good, because no you have no excuse and when you break protocol I will make sure you know it! You can no longer claim ignorance because you know the protocols!"

"I knew them before. I just chose a more creative approach to my investigations styles then those listed in that book of _guidelines_."

Danny shook his head disapprovingly.

"So are you going to tell us who won?" Chin asked. "Who is the better Rookie?"

"I'm not a rookie!" Steve stated.

"Not anymore," Danny said with a smile. "Now we are all on the same page."

"Well, as you know, Steve and I shot in the same percentile on our weapons test – which I am pretty proud of considering the weapons training he has." Kono began to explain the results of their three days of examinations and training exercises. "On Sunday our physical tests were surprisingly even as well."

"It's because you're crazy awesome!" Chin stated proudly. "She's a little Ninja!"

"I know!" Steve said with a laugh. "She was awesome to watch run that course. If women could be SEALs, Kono would be at the top of the list. She'd kill it."

"Aw thanks," Kono smiled, "but we live in the twenty first century, why hasn't that rule changed. Women should be SEALs!"

"I... it's not my…I would make you one…that information is way above my pay grade. I'm sorry Miss. Kalakaua I just don't have that kind of information." Steve panicked as he tried to back peddle.

"All right," Danny said and threw his hands up – coming to his partners rescue once again. "Can we here the final verdict? We already knew Kono could play with the big boys and give them the run around. So who won?"

"Overall, Kono beat me – by half a percentage point."

"I WIN!" Kono shouted as she practically danced around the office.

"I told you my Rookie would beat your rookie ass!" Danny stated as he jumped up from his seat.

"I'm not a rookie!"

"And I suppose you are going to try and convince me that you're not the loser as well?" Danny asked mockingly.

"No, I lost fair and square, and I'm really proud of Kono for all her hard work on the case and the exams. She can handle just about anything you throw at her and I'm really glad she's on our side." Steve said and valiantly admitted defeat.

"Awe, thanks boss," Kono said as she blushed.

"This calls for celebration!" Steve stated.

"I agree," Danny said with a nod. "I think we should all head over to the Hilton for drinks."

"And dinner?" Steve asked slyly.

"Drinks could turn into dinner, and because you guys did such a great job, and really it should be a big deal for both of you, dinner is on me." Danny stated proudly. "Welcome to the club, Detectives."

Steve shot Chin a knowing glance, "all right dinner! I just have to make a quick phone call and we can head out!"

"What was that look?" Danny asked suspiciously.

"There was no look," Steve answered.

"There was a look. Chin what was that look about? What is he playing at?"

"You offered to buy dinner!" Steve stated and stepped out of Danny's office.

"Governor Denning bet Steve two hundred dollars that you would see through his plotting and could catch on before Steve got a free dinner out of you whether he won or lost the bet." Chin explained.

"Whoa, you come back here! I offered you dinner. You did not trick me into it!" Danny yelled as he rushed out of his office and followed Steve.

"And everything is as it should be," Kono said as she sighed and fell into the chair beside her cousin.

"Children – we work with two fully grown bundles of joy." Chin said with a shake of his head. "Come on Cuz, I'll buy you the first beer. I'm really proud of you."

"Thank you Chin. It means a lot coming from you." Kono said with a smile.

"My baby cousin, all grown up and kicking a navy SEALs ass, now there is something to brag about," Chin stated as he and Kono snuck out of the office leaving Danny and Steve oblivious to their departure.

**_The End_**


End file.
